Second Chances
by psychopathicdorito
Summary: Meet Hayden Miranda Pines: the sole daughter of Stanford Filbrick Pines. The girl with the nearly perfect life (had it not been for her mother's death). The girl from the other dimension. The girl who was the smartest in town. The girl everyone thought had no problems. The girl who didn't want to be part of a Romeo and Juliet story.
1. I

_Splash._

 _"_ Oh my God - MABEL! COME BACK HERE!"

I hid a giggle behind my mouth as my cousins (well, second cousins) started chasing each other with water balloons. Even at sixteen, they were still as energetic and fun as they were when I first met them.

Me? Dad likes to say I'm more mature, but he still thinks I should take things more seriously. Uncle says I'm finally getting how this dimension works, but that I have to be less serious.

Those two will _never_ get along.

Who am I? Hayden Miranda Pines, only daughter of Stanford Filbrick Pines. I was born in Dimension 52, back where Dad met Mom - Lady Miranda Canterbury. Back then, Dad had saved Mom from a mass murder, making her the only surviving heir of their family. She was supposed to marry some Lord of somewhere, but she chose Dad instead. She chose a life away from her home, and she chose a chance at a dimension where she could start a family with Dad.

But she never did.

That's what terrifying creatures from other dimensions do. They rip your dreams apart - quite literally.

I'll never know past that, never know who Mom really was. I was just an infant back then, an unnamed infant. Dad decided to stick with Mom's chosen name for me: Hayden. To honor her, however, he also made her name my middle name.

I grew up hidden from the terrors of Dimension 52, but I knew about the dimension I was supposed to be living in. I had a mild telepathic ability that Dad had no idea about until now, and every night, when I wanted to, his dreams were my dreams.

Dreams that talked about failing as a brother, as a friend, and failing to notice tricksters when he saw them.

I was with Dad when he was brought back to this dimension. At first, Dipper and Mabel didn't want to trust me - heck, Uncle Stan even avoided me - but as soon as I showed them I was just a normal twelve year old, the 'Mystery Twins' took me along every adventure they ever took.

The biggest adventure was at the end of the summer - Dipper and Mabel's birthday - where we finally defeated the demon with one eye: Bill Cipher. It took two long weeks to figure out how to defeat him, but it was worth it. Gravity Falls was finally demon-free.

And don't think it actually got boring in Gravity Falls. No, the only thing we were free from was Bill Cipher. We still had an occasional goblin monster or enchanted furniture, but it was somehow easier to live in Gravity Falls. There were no more spooky nightmares, no unexplained dreams, and everything was back to a normal kind of weird.

"AH! HE'S GOT ME! MABEL IS DOWN! WADDLES, SAVE YOURSELF!" Mabel cried in fake pain, collapsing next to her pet pig Waddles. The pink animal only sniffed it's owner's face, making Mabel quiver as she tried to keep her laughs quiet to remain in character.

Dipper shook his head in bemusement and aimed his Nyarf gun at her, but then his phone started ringing. He grabbed his phone from where it lay by the stairs of the Shack, and immediately put it up to his ear.

"Hey, Mia...Yeah, me and Mabel were just playing around...the usual, what about you?...Really?"

I watched as Dipper walked near the totem pole, then casually leaned against it, gesturing with his other hand wildly as he continued talking into the phone. It was probably Mia Walter, Dipper's girlfriend from back in Piedmont. I was told the two had met up over a science fair project.

Not that I had any grudge against Mia. She had talked to me on the phone a week ago, and she sounded really sweet. I'm sure we could get along swell.

"Hey, what are you staring at?" I looked up to see Mabel smiling sweetly down at me, before she sat down beside me. Waddles walked up beside Mabel and laid his head down on the wooden floor, falling fast asleep.

I let out a small laugh before turning back ti Dipper. "Nothing, it's just...meeting him four years back, I wasn't sure he would ever get a girlfriend. No offense." I said quickly, remembering the stories Uncle Stan would tell me about Mabel beating anyone who would insult her brother.

Mabel simply laughed, nodding her head as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Back when you were still in that other dimension, he could go hours talking about Wendy. Never thought he would get past the awkward stage, but look at him now!" She pointed to Dipper again, and there was an affectionate smile on his face as he nodded along and listened to whatever Mia was saying.

"People change too fast, huh?" I whispered silently. I didn't think Mabel had heard what I said, but I guess she did with the way she nudged me softly.

"What about you? Any changes since we've gone?" she asked.

I desperately wanted to tell her that yes, I've met an amazing boy who relates to me and loves me for everything I am, that he's the love of my life - but no. That's Mabel's love story, and I don't have one.

Every boy here in Gravity Falls either thinks I'm weird or is on the brink of insanity, and I'm pretty sure I'm straight, and everyone I know is in a relationship or has been in a relationship, leaving me alone and an outcast.

Mabel stayed silent when I didn't say anything, only wrapping her hand around my shoulder, causing me to lay my head on it and sigh deeply. Mabel's always had that effect on people, making them feel loved and at home (despite the fact I was already at home, but never mind that).

"You'll find someone someday. Some amazingly nerdy and handsome guy out there who'll love you and would be willing to give his life up for you, and we'll support you two every step of the way." Mabel said, gesturing to the setting sun. I stifled a laugh and pushed her away, giggling to myself as she sent me a braces-free grin.

"Oh my God, Mabel, that has got to be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard you say, and that's saying something." I laughed, and she crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out.

"Hey, I happen to be an aspiring fantasy writer. My very first story is going to be about a beautiful orphan princess who goes on a magical quest to find true love, and you, Hayden Pines," Mabel said, pointing to me, "happen to be the inspiration for her, so you better be very proud."

"Oh, trust me, I am very proud about the fact I am now a girl who wears ball gowns and has a bag of fairy dust." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Really? I'd like to see that happen." Dipper stood beside me, grinning as he leaned against the wooden pole.

Mabel's eyes glisten over and a very familiar large grin comes over her face. "Dipper's got a point."

My eyes widened as I slowly stood up, warily stepping back to stand beside Dipper. The younger twin realized his mistake and put a hand over his mouth, slowly stifling a laugh. "Oh my God, I am so sorry, Hayden."

Mabel lunged for me and I shrieked, running away from her as she chased after me, trying to powder me with glitter.

That's how Dad and Uncle Stan found us, and while Uncle Stan just shook his head and bid us a good night, Dad facepalmed, sighing before making us promise never to use fairy dust mixed with glitter against each other ("But it looks so much like it, how was I supposed to know?").

That night, everything was as peaceful as usual. I heard no sounds from downstairs, meaning Dad was having a peaceful sleep. In fact, it seemed everyone was.

Everyone except me.

My bed was amazingly comfortable and I was so sleepy, but I just couldn't sleep.

I couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching me.

* * *

 **A/N: First chapter's up! This is sort of the 'introductory' chapter, more action and dialogue (hopefully) in the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Hayden Miranda Pines is a figment of my imagination.**

 **\- psychopathicdorito**


	2. II

"Woah! Bag check for Hayden's eyes!" Uncle Stan called as soon as I entered the room. I didn't even have the strength to glare at him as usual, and he must've noticed.

"Hey, um, kid. You doing okay?" he tried again, his tone somehow gentler. I faked a smile and nodded, although the yawn that came after probably gave me away.

"Don't worry, Uncle, I'm fine. Just...sleepy, is all. Didn't get a wink of sleep last night." I said, taking my place at the table.

"Good morning Hayden - woah, what happened to your eyes?" Mabel asked, pausing and staring at me worriedly.

I waved her off, giving a quick smile. "Just couldn't sleep. Don't worry about it." I repeated.

"The last time I saw anyone looking like that was when..." Mabel's eyes darted to and fro and tears watered them slowly.

"Was when what?" I watched as Dipper put an arm around his sister and whispered things along the line of, "It isn't your fault" and "don't blame yourself."

"It was when Bipper was here." Mabel whispered hoarsely.

My eyes widened, and in that moment you could hear a pin drop. "You mean when Bill possessed Dipper? But-but Bill's dead, right?"

"Even though I don't know much about demons, I do know this. If he's back, kid, and he's haunting your dreams, then he's back for revenge." Uncle Stan said gravely.

"We gotta tell Grunkle Ford!" Dipper exclaimed.

"No, we can't tell Dad! He's under enough work already, we're not doubling it." I protested.

"But if we don't tell Grunkle Ford, how are we gonna defeat Bill this time?" Mabel asked worriedly.

"We're not telling Dad anything!"

"Not telling me what?"

We all froze - well, except for Uncle Stan, who grunted in recognition at his brother's arrival. "Well, you're on your own, kids. I got a Shack to run." he said, standing up and making his way to his room to dress.

"It's time to feed Waddles, I almost forgot!" Mabel shrieked hurriedly, grabbing the pig and dragging him outside.

"Whoops, forgot my...hat. And phone! I'll be back soon!" Dipper forced out, avoiding my hateful glare.

I felt my Dad's presence still lingering behind me, and I stood up slowly. "Um, I should-"

A hand on my shoulder forced me to sit down and I gulped, looking up with what I hoped looked like innocence to Dad.

"Sweetie, what's going on?" Dad asked, sitting on the opposite chair.

My eyes darted to and fro, looking for an escape plan. "Uhh..."

"Hayden." A finger turned my face to stare at Dad's, and he looked at me, his face lookimg almost pleading. "Please. Tell me what's going on."

"Dad, it's really nothing. I just couldn't sleep, probably overthinking, you know us Pines." I tried to reason out.

Dad looked uncomfortable, I know he didn't believe me, but the fact that he might seem like he was doubting his only child (telepathic abilities, you are delivering in the best way) made him nod.

"Alright. Why don't you get some sleep, I'll tell your Uncle Stan, he'll understand."

I nodded. That actually sounded like a good idea. "Thanks, Dad." I stood up immediately after, ready to leave the room.

"Oh, and Hayden?"

I paused, nervousness running through my whole body. I didn't even dare to turn back around as I knew I would probably give myself away if I did so.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"You know you can tell me anything, right? I'll never be too busy for my own daughter."

Well, now he did it. He was trying to make me feel guilty - intentionally or not, I wasn't so sure. But I gulped and nodded, not sure if he was facing this way. "Yeah. See ya, Dad."

I didn't wait for his reply as I ran up the stairs to my room. When I finally made it inside, I slumped against the wooden door, running a hand across my face. Jeez, what was with me?

"You have _got_ to get some sleep, Hayden, or else Dad'll find out the problem sooner or later." I whispered to myself as I stared down at my hands.

But what could get me to sleep? What could calm me enough when I knew - or felt - that someone was watching me, that someone was trying to mess with my head? How could I sleep when I felt that I was in danger, when I felt I was letting my guard down?

Mom's hoodie.

I silently locked the door, looking around me before proceeding to drag a trunk from underneath my bed. The cover creaked with old age as I opened it, and there before my eyes lay an age-old hoodie that was plain black, and looked like any normal hoodie you could buy at the mall.

But it was so much more than that. Dad didn't know, but this hoodie was what I used to get myself to calm down or to sleep back when he was out there fighting. Mom's old hoodie, which was used to keep me warm when I was an infant, the only thing I had left of her except memories and half sang lullabies.

Sure enough, as soon as I put on the hoodie, I felt calm and sleepy, and laid myself down on my bed as I readied myself for a well-deserved sleep.

Knowing me and my luck, that wasn't what I got.

The first thing I noticed was that I was still in my room, but everything but me had changed to a gray color.

A shiver ran through me as I let out a shaky breath. So it was true. Bill was coming back.

I waited for a good five minutes for the sign of his presence - a high-pitched insane laugh, the shadow of a triangle overlapping mine, or even a flash of light blue - but nothing came.

"Alright, Bill, enough playing games! Why don't you just terrorize me now and get it over with." I said, my tone laced with boredom. I realized what I had just acted like a second too late, and braced myself for the scolding or physical punishment I would receive from the dream demon, but it never came.

I was starting to get more and more curious and less scared. Where was that floating triangle? Was he just messing with my head by plunging me into the Mindscape? Was he watching me right now?

I was just about ready to shout another dare at the demon when there was the sound of a large wind all around me. Vaguely, I could hear the sound of shattering glass and knew that it was the bedroom window.

What I wanted to know at the moment, however, was what and how something had done that much of an impact. It had shattered the window completely, all the shards of glass scattered on the floor. The wooden panels that made up the triangular shape of the window were even split apart, and I decided to look outside the window to see other damages it had caused.

Nothing. Outside, the forest was completely peaceful. I seemed to be the only one around the whole place, however, so I was _definitely_ still in the Mindscape.

But why? Why had Bill gone to the trouble of bothering me if he wasn't going to _actually_ bother me?

The sound of glass crunching under my feet made me look down, and I let out a small laugh as I remembered Dipper and Mabel telling me the story of how they had crushed a diamond that could alter your size, only learning after that Soos was still shrunken and that he had spelled out the word - _wait a minute._

My eyes widened and I stepped back about two feet from the floor. Then I quickly remembered: you can do anything in the Mindscape. I hovered up until the ceiling, and my mouth fell wide open as I saw what was written in glass shards.

 _Help._

The next thing I knew, I was in the forest. The gray surroundings implied that I was still dreaming, so I sat myself down on a nearby rock. Maybe now Bill was going to appear, laughing at me and telling me how dumb I was in believing he needed help. Stupid isosceles -

"Help...help!"

Instinct came over me as I ran toward the sound of the voice. It seemed vaguely familiar, but I didn't need to pay attention to that now. The pleas of help got louder and louder and louder until I found myself in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

The cries had stopped, yet there was no one in sight.

I walked forward, hoping to walk across the whole clearing to find any other clues - it was starting to become a mystery in my dreams - but an invisible force forbade me to do so. I frowned, trying again, but receiving the same result.

Then I reluctantly extended my hand slowly, and what seemed like a force field around it turned slightly visible. I pushed harder, hoping to actually find out whatever it was hiding or protecting. It never occurred to me that it might be something I'd never encountered before.

Because it was.

Once I had entered the force field (after an extensive amount of pushing and tugging at air), I could see it floating in and out of the visible spectrum around me. But that wasn't important, because what was important was the crazy sight in front of me.

Chains that seemed to extend even beyond the ground were attached to a young boy's wrists. He was probably my age, with blonde hair so bright it looked golden. His breath came in raggedy, shaking stops, and I concluded that he had probably been tortured recently.

His shirt and pants were in rags, although I could see that he had been dressed for a formal occasion - unless the guy wore dress pants and white button-ups everyday, and that was only Tad Strange. This guy looked nothing like Tad.

His hair was matted with blood and was dirty with soil, and his arms were scratched, burned, and bruised. I couldn't even start to imagine what the rest of his body's condition was in.

"Holy crap, are you okay?" I asked. It was a stupid question, I knew he wasn't okay, but what else was I supposed to say? Holy crap, you're not okay?

Despite what I should have said, it caught his attention and he looked up, my eyes finally seeing his face. It was wet with tears, sweat, and blood - the third one making me cringe in pain and sympathy for him. His eyes, which were golden, mirrored pain and desperation.

I had never seen this guy before and I had no idea as to who he might be, but he seemed awfully familiar. I just couldn't remember.

I woke up just a few moments later, my heart beating loudly in my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I glanced at the clock and frowned, noticing that it had been simply fifteen minutes since I had first gone to sleep. I would have thought that it was an hour.

Even though the dream was slipping my memory already - Dad had explained why, but it would take up too much space to tell - one single fact remained in my mind, repeating over and over again.

The boy's last words, his last pleas before I was sucked out of the dream.

Four words. Two simple instructions.

' _Find me.'_

 _'Help me.'_

* * *

 **A/N: Second chapter! I still think it's pretty short, though T^T Comments and criticism greatly appreciated! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Gravity Falls and all mentioned characters belong to Disney and Alex Hirsch. Hayden Pines is a figment of my imagination and is not a real character.**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	3. III

Exterior. A young girl, wearing an oversized sweater and a pair of leggings, sits on the porch of the Mystery Shack, a cup of hot chocolate beside her and a sketch pad in her hand. She draws furiously, barely minding the surroundings.

That's me, by the way.

After my dream, I felt like just winding down. No one was at home: the Shack was closed, Dipper and Mabel were in town, and Uncle Stan had gone for a drive. Dad was probably in the basement, working on his experiments.

So there I was with no one to talk to, drawing the guy I had seen in my dream furiously. It looked more from my imagination than real life, his golden eyes flashing at me with hope and sadness.

I slowly worded out the last words he had uttered onto the paper, and sighed in frustration as I stared at my masterpiece. It made no sense!

I had no idea who the guy was, so why would Bill plant him in my dreams?! And why wasn't the dream demon anywhere in my dreams?! Not that I was complaining, but he should have been there first hand if he was going to terrorize me.

In fact, I was having doubts it was even Bill in the first place. Usually it was an empty black or the monochrome gray I had encountered, but he was always there. Always that high-pitched laugh, always that isosceles dork with his top hat and cane.

I picked up the mug of hot chocolate and sipped quietly. The forest in front of me seemed so welcoming, yet I knew first-hand it's dangers. I had learned never to lurk there without my father's journals, or I would be dead in a split second.

My train of thought was broken when I heard the telltale sound of the basement door - or the vending machine door, whatever. All I knew was that meant Dad was coming back up.

I heard him calling my name and I quickly shut the sketchpad and hid it before shouting, "Outside, Dad!"

There was the brief sound of the screen door opening before my Dad sat beside me. I looked up to give him a smile, offering him the hot chocolate. He shook his head and I retracted my hand, placing the cup near my face and staring down into it.

"You have a good sleep?"

"Yeah, thanks Dad. How's the experiment?"

"It's good, it's good. Your sketchpad?"

I glanced quickly at it's hiding place, before smiling and nodding. "Good. Dipper's been helping, but he has his own journal now."

"I'm glad to hear you kids are taking an interest."

I smiled. "Yeah, and Uncle Stan's taught Mabel a thing or two about running the shop."

Dad chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't know if I should be pleased or worried."

I giggled. I knew exactly what Dad meant. I had heard Mabel and Uncle Stan's lessons, and let's just say that Mabel's gonna be a pretty hard-to-bargain-with kinda girl.

"I saw you a while ago with the sketchpad. Do you mind if I take a look?"

He _what?_ I looked up at him, staring in fear and dread. He gave me a soft smile, but a nervous one too.

"Um…it's just nonsense, Dad." I mumbled, avoiding his glance.

"Ah, I'm sure it's still something I'd like to see." Was it just me, or was there a slight nervousness to my father's voice?

"Dad, what's going on? Why are you acting like that?" I asked, skeptical as I leaned toward him.

The tables were turned, and suddenly it seemed like _he_ was hiding something. Eyes wide, Dad turned away from me and gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, it's nothing, sweetie."

"No, seriously, Dad. Is something up? Please tell me." I asked again, worried for my father. As cheesy as it may sound, I really loved my father, and the nights I had spent back in Dimension 52, waiting desperately for him to come back home, had made me develop a sort of worry every time he was hiding something - back then it was usually pain. And although I could tell it wasn't pain he was hiding from me this time, I knew it was something I needed to know about.

Dad looked down at me and sighed, before smiling sadly as he shook his head. "You look too much like your mother to let me say no." he confessed, and I was taken aback. You'd think he had already told me that a thousand times, but he had only mentioned it this one time.

I looked like Mom.

"Your uncle Stan told me about what you and your cousins were talking about a while ago." Dad said.

I bit my lip in embarrassment as I looked down. Before I could explain, I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Dad's apologetic smile.

"Hayden, I'll never be too busy for my own daughter. Even if I'm down in my lab, dealing with a radioactive experiment, you have the utmost right to run down there and ask for help if you need it. You got that, honey?"

I hugged Dad immediately, tears suddenly springing to my eyes as the fear and trauma of the past dream I had finally dawned on me. How did I even think about doing it alone? Dad had tried before, and I knew that neither of us wanted to see me go through the same experience.

"I-I just thought…I didn't…I was…I didn't want you to be worried, I…" I trailed off, sobs racking my body.

"It's okay, sweetie. Daddy's here."

Daddy's here?

 _I screamed, sobbing as I clutched onto a woman's leg. I buried my face into her pants and soon found myself face to face with her._

 _"Hayden, honey, why are you crying?" she asked._

 _"Guns! Bad guns! They hurt Daddy!" I exclaimed loudly._

 _Then there was the sound of another gunshot and I wailed even louder. "I want Daddy! I want Daddy!" I sobbed, chanting it like a mantra._

 _There was the sound of someone entering, and then murmured whispers._

 _"Why is she crying?"_

 _"She's a kid, Keith!"_

 _"Yeah, I can see that, but why's she crying?"_

 _"Scared of the gunshots."_

 _"_ _Psh_ _, stop kidding around, Mandy. Little kid's never been scared of 'em before."_

 _"Yeah, well that was before you went ahead and put her father in the front line when he barely knew how to work a gun!"_

 _"Hey, the guy isn't dead, and besides, we've lost too many people in this goddamned war. What's the difference if this new guy dies?"_

 _Th_ _e sound of a fist hitting a face met my ears, but I continued on sobbing._

 _"You heartless monster! The_ _litt_ _le kid's only family left is her father and you want to go ahead and kill the man?!"_

 _"I never said I-"_

 _There was the sound of another person entering the room and the two adults shut up._

 _"Keith, Nate wants to talk to you. And you, Mandy, Pines is conscious, better bring the little kid to the infirmary." Then there were the sounds of footsteps, and I found myself face to face with someone I was familiar with._

 _"There, there, kid. Your Daddy's gonna be just fine."_

 _I_ _sniffled_ _and nodded slowly, clutching to the girl's pant leg. She suddenly picked me up and I held onto her like it was my life, and she chuckled. "Come on then, Hayden. Let's go bring you back to Daddy."_

 _I buried my face into her chest, feeling the beat of her heart next to my cheek and wondering where we were going._

 _Finally, she stopped and put me down, and I looked around in alarm. All I could see was a bed and people around said bed, talking._

 _But there was a familiar tuft of hair that I knew by heart and I ran to the bed, standing on my tiptoes to find my father staring at me amusedly._

 _"How'd you get here?"_ _he asked softly, but I could hear the tired tone to his voice._

 _"She wouldn't stop crying about the guns. Kept asking for you." the woman who had brought me offered._

 _"I'm sorry for the noise." Dad apologized immediately._

 _The woman shook her head and smiled. "No, it's fine. You know, she kinda reminds me of Miranda."_

 _Dad's face fell into one of grief and he sighed, picking me up. "Yeah. She does."_

 _"Daddy…" I whimpered, sobbing._

 _"Hey, hey, it's okay, Hayden. Daddy's here. Daddy's here."_

I jerked back and started breathing heavily. That's _impossible._ I'd never remembered something in so much full detail before.

"Hayden? Hayden, what's wrong?" Dad asked, starting to panic as he saw my equally panicked stare.

"I-It's nothing, Dad, I -"

My sentence was cut short as I felt the worst pain throughout my body. I let out a whimper and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

What was happening to me?!

I could barely hear the sounds of my father's panicked shouts for help due to unknown whispers in my ears, murmuring things I couldn't comprehend.

" _Find me."_ a voice unlike my own pleaded, and Dad let out a gasp as he moved backward. I didn't know what it looked like, but it must have been creepy and wrong if Dad backed off.

"Hayden…Hayden, snap out of it, please!" Dad pleaded, and I desperately wanted to shut myself up, but I was busy gasping for air which I seemed to be lacking.

 _"Stanford Pines…please! Help me! Save me!"_ the voice pleaded again. Colors swirled before my eyes and I gave one final gasp before collapsing on the floor, exhausted.

My body felt extremely fatigued and I could barely feel it when Dad took me in his arms and desperately asked if I was okay.

"The…sketch…pad." I murmured, settling my eyes on the material object.

Dipper, Mabel, and Uncle Stan had reached the Shack by then, and they immediately raced toward us. But I guess I couldn't wait for them any longer.

My eyes shut close and there was nothing but silence and the dark.

* * *

 **A/N: Ohmigosh I haven't updated in forever! Sorry, school is dragging me down right now, teachers handing us things to do every single day.**

 **I know it's a short chapter, but I might just write them in these lengths - the longest will probably be about 2000 words long. I never write less than 1500 words though, so there's that.**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Hayden Miranda Pines is a figment of my imagination.**

 **\- psychopathicdorito**


	4. IV

Silence and darkness.

If this is what the Mindscape looked like, then I understood why Bill went mad.

"Hello? Anyone around here? Bill?" I called into the void.

There was no answer. Not even a flash of blue. Not even an insane laugh. Not even the high-pitched voice that he had. Nothing.

"Listen, I know you're the reason I'm in here in the first place, you Dorito!" I tried again, knowing that Bill would do anything to punish the person that insulted him.

But no one answered back.

"I'm getting more bored than creeped out, Cipher! Why bring me here if you're not gonna make me do anything?"

Silence. Nothing but defeaning silence. If this was what they called hell, then they were right: it was terrifying and could make you go insane.

"What are you doing here?!"

I whirled around, shocked at the new voice. It was somehow familiar, and when I found myself facing the person it had come from, I suddenly knew why.

He was breathing heavily, standing on what seemed to be the floor we were standing on. Chains shackled his two wrists and ankles, dragging him downwards. He seemed to be using all of his energy to focus into standing, because every once in a while, he would wince and shift his position.

But almost everything else was still the same: his golden hair, his golden eyes, and the clothes he was wearing. Everything added up.

"You're the kid from my dreams! The one who told me to find him!" I exclaimed.

The guy's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Of course he didn't know what I was talking about. Bill had probably put him there without him knowing.

"You were in a dream I had. You were in the forest, and you looked just like this," I explained, gesturing to his current state, "but you were sitting. Maybe you were weaker? I don't really know, anyway, you asked me to find you and to help you."

The guy had glared at me when I had said he was probably weaker, but then his expression changed to one of pure and utter anger and frustration.

" _NO!_ " he shouted, and I flinched as his shout echoed into the voids. His eyes filled with hatred weren't directed at me any longer, but I could see that they had turned a vivid red.

I backed away slowly as he started shouting a string of curses in a foreign language. "This wasn't part of the deal!" he screamed.

There was suddenly a low chuckle, and then a flash of bright white light. "Then again, none of this was."

I turned around to find nothing but a...cat? A _pink_ cat?

"Ah, Hayden Pines!" the cat purred, and I rubbed my eyes as I looked down at it.

"Um..." I muttered, uncertain of what to say.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, child. I have one of the most _purr-_ fect forms on Earth! Don't you dare judge." the cat scolded.

"Um...I'm sorry?" I guessed, not really sure about what to say. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was conversing with a cat - and a pink one that.

"Oh, shut up, Felicia." the chained guy behind me spat, looking up in disgust. " _My_ form was far more superior."

"That's what you think, but _everyone_ always knows you're there, right?" the cat taunted, slowly walking toward the guy.

"That's the point. What do I have to fear if I'm more powerful than everyone else?" the guy smirked. I had to hand it to him, even if Felicia (I guess that was the cat's name) had been the one to shackle him and was presently taunting him, he still had the courage and strength to taunt her back - and rather greatly, I would say.

"I could tell her, you know. Tell Hayden Pines _everything._ Why you're here, why you know her, why you look like this, where you're being kept prison." the cat said, waving her paw back and forth as she listed them. And as she did, the guy seemed to be getting more enraged and tried to tackle her to the ground.

"What's his name, Hayden sweetie? Ever bothered to ask who he is?" the cat asked, turning toward me.

"No...I never asked." I realized, blushing as I remembered that it was somehow disrespectful. "Sorry, what was your-"

"Not important!" the guy screamed, interrupting me. His eyes were desperate, pleading me to stop.

"Oh, but it is, isn't it, darling? Knowing his name might give you a clue to why he's here - why _you're_ here, more importantly."

"No! It's a simple name, it doesn't mean anything! Please, don't!"

I seemed to be watching a game of ping pong. Felicia was on the right, pushing me to ask his name, while the guy was pleading me not to ask.

"But you can just _not_ tell me if you don't want to." I reasoned out to the guy.

"I _can't_. I'm obliged to answer every question you ask, follow every command you give."

"Your own personal slave! Don't you want it?" Felicia said happily.

"What? No! What would give you the idea that I needed a slave?!" I exclaimed, both appalled and offended. Did Felicia think I was too weak? That I wasn't capable on my own? Why did I need a slave?

"...Hayden, you got to wake..."

"Dipper!" I exclaimed, looking around for my cousin. Strangely, there was no change in my surroundings, but I knew for a fact that it was Dipper's voice I had heard.

"She's waking up, Felicia. Aren't human feelings wonderful?" the guy chuckled happily. Felicia seemed to be fuming, and the black background of what I assumed to be the Mindscape was growing somehow paler.

"I'll be back. You'll see! You'll _all_ see!" the cat growled, and then there was another flash light and Felicia was gone.

"What do you mean, waking up?" I asked, choosing to ignore the weird cat's actions.

"You're in a coma, Hayden. And today is the fifth day of it. Dipper's started talking to you, you're waking up." the guy explained.

"I never helped you." I realized with a tinge of guilt, staring sadly at his chains.

"Forget I ever existed. I'm a figment of your imagination. I don't need your help, you don't need to find me. Everything was a dream." the guy said hurriedly.

"Are you kidding me? Look, you might not want me to find you, but I know you're in the forest somewhere. And trust me, whatever you have with that, um...cat, me and my family can help. I've got an amazingly smart father and he has this sort of strong twin brother, and there's my cousins Dipper and Mabel, and they're sorta like a dream team duo...why are you laughing?"

I had noticed him chuckling halfway throughout my explanation, and he shook his head slowly. "Hayden. You're really amazing."

I blushed. "Um, thanks? Dude, we've just met."

"Yeah. I know. But I'm not exactly the 'good first impression' type, to be honest." the guy chuckled, shaking his head.

"Why can't I help?"

"You can never ever _ever_ help me, Hayden Pines. You just can't. I won't allow you to."

"But I _can,_ technically speaking?"

The guy pondered - it was hard not knowing his name when we kept talking - for a minute, but then laughed.

"Hayden, Hayden, Hayden. You really are one of a kind."

"At least let us find you?"

The guy's mouth quivered. "Forest. All I can say."

"That's stupid!" I groaned. _Forest?_ I knew that already! Besides, where else in Gravity Falls would you hide a chained teenager?

"Trust me, it's for your own good."

"You're starting to sound like a cliche story on the internet. Like those petty romances where the girl falls in love with the guy."

"And I take it you read them? You can't possibly know what they're like if you haven't read them."

My face grew hot as the guy laughed softly again. There was this sort of amusement to his face, and even a sort of wistfulness - like he didn't want me to leave.

"...missing out on everything..."

"Mabel." I sighed, hearing her call out. Of course she would be telling me about all her sleepovers - I assumed that was what she was talking about when she said I was 'missing out'.

"Faster than I thought." the guy murmured, shaking his head.

"I'm waking up too fast, huh?"

"Well, I wouldn't say too fast. Your father would argue it's been too long."

"Ya little gremlin, better wake up soon."

"Uncle Stan." I giggled.

"You're starting to hear what they say fully. Just a few minutes and you're out of here."

"And what about you? Are you in a coma, too?"

The guy sighed. "No, but I wish I was." He gestured to his chains and I sent him a sympathetic smile.

"Well, if I really can't..."

"Nah, I put a force field around me."

"I surpassed it last time."

"Well, 'last time' wasn't me. It was that stupid Felicia. She's weaker than I am, so it'll take years of mastery to pass this force field."

I rolled my eyes. "I've met you for what, five minutes? And you're already becoming the most conceited guy I've met."

He winked. "It's an honor."

We both shared a look and laughed, and suddenly I felt a pang near my chest. The last time that happened, Dad had come rushing towards me. Now, the guy only sent me a look.

"Think I'll remember you when I'm out?" I asked, between gasps for air.

"Normal people don't usually remember me, but you're not exactly 'normal', now are you?"

"So you mean you've actually met people in comas before me? What are you, some sort of coma angel?"

He let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Oh, Hayden, you are a laugh! Coma angel! What a riot!"

I was about to answer when I heard the most important voice I knew I needed.

"Please. Please, don't leave me."

"Dad." I whispered, looking up and wishing I was there to comfort him, to tell him I'd never leave him, to tell him I needed him as much as he needed me.

"Hey." I turned around to find the guy still looking at me, a somehow wistful look on his face. "Take care if yourself out there, Hayden."

He was starting to fade from my sight. "I'll find you. I promise I'll find you." I said with determination.

He only smiled, and in that moment I wanted to force him to tell me everything he was hiding from me. I was only trying to _help_ , what was so wrong about that?!

He lifted a chained hand, giving me a small wave. Everything was getting whiter by the second, and bright lights seemed to be blocking my view. "I promise!" I shouted, a final effort to reassure him.

He never heard me.

A few moments later, I opened my eyes to the sight of a blank, boring wall. Then there were four shouts of my name and I was being hugged to death.

I had made it home. I was back in Gravity Falls. Back with my family. Back with my friends.

And back to the forest, where I was sure I would fulfill my promise.

No matter what.

* * *

 **A/N: I can't believe I made this for a day and I couldn't update as fast T^T I hate a.) internet connection pace and b.) teachers who shower you with things to do.**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Hayden Miranda Pines is a figment of my imagination.**

 **\- psychopathicdorito**


	5. V

"There! It's finished!" Mabel exclaimed, standing back proudly to examine her artwork - mainly me.

"Gee, um, thanks, Mabel. But I can't really see anything without my glasses."

Dipper stifled a laugh as a blush and a look of realization dawned on Mabel's face. "R-right. Sorry. Here."

I gratefully accepted my black-rimmed glasses, putting them on carefully before accepting the mirror Mabel was enthusiastically handing me.

"So? What do you think?"

"You did a really good job." I said truthfully, looking in awe at my hair, which had never looked that neat in my whole life. It was halved into two amazing and beautifully done fishtail braids, and Mabel had painstakingly pinned a flower crown on the top of my head.

I cautiously fingered the dreamcatcher hanging from the necklace Mabel had made. "What did you make this for?" I asked.

"So you won't have any more of those seizure things...or whatever happened to you." Mabel explained happily.

Dipper was about to make a comment, but I shot him a look. I knew that he was going to inform his twin sister that dreamcatchers did nothing to help (Bill had informed us that they only 'tickled'), but I didn't want Mabel's feelings to be damaged or for her to feel that her hard work amounted to nothing.

"It's amazing, Mabel. Thanks!" I grinned, and Mabel grinned at me as well.

"Don't mention it!"

The door opened slowly and we all turned to see Dad standing in the doorway with a wheelchair he was pushing. He looked at me in surprise, then asked, with confusion, "Why does my daughter look like she's a wood nymph?"

Mabel's eyes gleamed as she turned his way, screeching, "Really?!"

"Um...yes?"

Mabel started dancing what I assumed was a celebratory dance, and I shook my head in amusement as Dipper groaned out for her to stop. While all this was happening, Dad had gone closer to me.

"Stan's out waiting with the car, and since I have a Ph.D. they let me be the one to bring you." he said, helping me out of the bed.

"Since when does having a Ph.D. relate to being able to wheelchair a coma patient out of a hospital?" I asked.

"Since the nurses believe anything so long as the person talking seems confident."

Dad winked at me and I giggled as I finally sat down on the wheelchair. We exited the room with Mabel and Dipper carrying my stuff, still talking enthusiastically about something I couldn't quite hear.

Since there was nothing else to do, and I knew he was dying to have one as well, I decided to start a conversation with Dad and asked him what had happened after I had blacked out.

At first he stayed silent, and I wondered what he was thinking about and if I should have just left the topic quiet.

"It's been...busy, for lack of better words." he said finally.

"Busy?" Busy doing what? I hoped it wasn't anything like a surprise welcome home party, because I honestly hated parties. Dad did too. Dipper did too.

The only person in our family who loved parties up until now was Mabel. Uncle Stan condoned them to keep her happy, but I could see the eye twitch and anger level rising every time Mabel announced she was having a party at the Mystery Shack. Whenever that happened, Dipper and I sent ourselves to Dad's basement laboratory to play Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons.

After a few minutes, Uncle Stan would come too, with my laptop in his hand and a DVD case in the other. It had become a sort of tradition of ours, me opening the laptop and Uncle Stan and Dad watching Ducktective while Dipper an I played. Dad's protests about how unrealistic the TV show was would be heard over my or Dipper's narration of the game.

Mabel had once or twice tried to bring us up - well, that's an understatement. She had tried every time she had a party, but when she saw that we weren't budging (and especially when she saw Dad and Uncle Stan finally bonding) she would give up until the next party. It was a never-ending paradox that each of us claimed was getting repetitive, but which none of us wanted to break.

"Hayden? Hayden?"

Dad stared at me in a mixed look of concern and confusion. I shook my head to finally get myself out of that train of thought and found myself facing Uncle Stan's bright red Diablo. In the time I had spent thinking about the possibility of one of Mabel's parties, I hadn't noticed that we were already out of the hospital. I had probably also missed Dad's explanation of the cause of his being busy.

"Sorry. Just trailed off." I said apologetically as Dad helped me in the car.

He laughed, shaking his head. "I'll tell you when we get back, then. I have something to show you."

Dad slammed the car door shut and I frowned. What something did he have to show me? It was physically impossible for someone to build something in a time period of five days, and I had been in the lab too much to know that if Dad was hiding something, he wouldn't be able to hide it from me.

"Ooh, he's gonna show you...'The Thing'!" Mabel gasped.

Beside her, Dipper rolled his eyes. "Mabel, you're making it sound like we have Frakenstein's Monster hidden somewhere in the Shack."

"And who says we don't?" Uncle Stan said gruffly.

"You brought a _monste_ _r_ inside my house?!" Dad exclaimed in a tone I thought sounded like excitement or frustration.

"Yeesh, Poindexter, relax. The whole Frankenstein thing is a big overrated legend." Uncle Stan said, rolling his eyes as he started the car.

Dad groaned and punched Uncle Stan's arm, acting like a kid who had just been told he wasn't getting ice cream for desert - even I had to roll my eyes at his childishness.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dipper and Mabel share a grin and allowed myself a small smile. The twins had wanted nothing but Dad and Uncle Stan to get along ever since they were 12, and this was the first year the two had openly bonded in front of them. It probably looked like nothing short of a miracle.

"I'll be in the shop if ya need me. Mabel, sweetie, ya comin'?" Uncle Stan said as soon as the car stopped and we were all out - I _could_ walk, it was just mandatory for hospitals to see coma patients (or patients who had stayed long in the hospital) leave in wheelchairs.

Mabel nodded and waved goodbye to Dipper before skipping after Uncle Stan. Now, I know what you're thinking. _The twins are divided? They didn't fix their conflict from years back?_

It's a different story. Mabel's aiming to open her own fashion line, and Uncle Stan was teaching her to be more...'persuasive', per se. Dipper was aiming to go Psychology - he wanted to learn more about the human mind, and talking to Dad, who had encountered Bill, a dream demon who was all too familiar with the human mind and loved to talk 24/7 about it, was just about the perfect thing to do to get ready for his future profession - and knowing Dipper, he was all about planning ahead.

"So, what's this thing we were gonna show me?" I asked, and Dad and Dipper shared a look.

"Oh, wait. Did you two do some guy bonding without me and blow up the lab or something? Because I thought I told you not to do that."

Dipper and Dad both sent me a sheepish grin as I glared at them both. "Yeah. Thought you forgot about that." Dipper murmured.

"You just don't forget the times where you use a fire extinguisher on your dad." I said pointedly, hands on my hips.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because we didn't blow anything up this time!" Dipper exclaimed happily.

"Be thankful you didn't." I muttered as I walked after them, their eyes gleaming.

Once we reached the bottom, a loud set of beeping an an automatic voice greeted us. The voice startled me, and I looked up in surprise. When I turned around, both Dad and Dipper had the sane giddy look.

"Is this some kind of sick joke about the fact I'm obsessed with Tony Stark?" I asked, but my expression certainly gave me away.

"You can call it that." Dipper laughed, walking up beside me and crossing his arms smugly. "Grunkle Ford is really amazing, together we got this thing working in a week."

"A week?" I echoed. "One, that's amazing. Two, I've been out for only five days!"

"We started on it days back. What do you think?" Dad asked.

"It can hear me?" I asked, looking up again.

"Certainly, Miss Pines." The automated voice sounded awfully familiar - I just couldn't figure out how.

"She...who does she sound like?" I asked to myself.

Dad walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. His eyes showed grief and sadness, and I tilted my head in confusion. "Dad? Are you okay?"

He stayed silent, and I could barely hear Dipper's muttered 'I'll let myself up' and the sliding close of the metal doors. Dad sighed, and gripped me a bit tighter.

"Dad?" My voice seemed strangled - I was so confused about why the AI seemed familiar and why Dad was struggling to tell me how.

As sudden as that had happened, Dad withdrew his hand and shook his head, smiling. "Sorry, sorry. Got a bit nostalgic there."

He then proceeded to talk about the wonders of the machine, and how he and Dipper had assembled it. I tried to nod and act like I understood, because I usually did, and I'm pretty sure that I did right now.

But within all the nodding and scientific terms, my shoulder still felt stiff, as if even it knew that my Dad was hiding something.

From my periphal vision, I thought I saw a glint of pink and a shimmer of yellow, but when I turned to see more, it was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: Has it seriously been weeks since I've updated wow I am a lazy ass. This education will be the death of me and I just want to write but nooooo the school wants me to learn about molecular and empirical formulas and am I ever gonna use that in life? No.**

 ***sigh***

 **But! Thank you to the guest who told me to update ahahaha I knoowww I've taken so long but I'm so happy someone's reading this thank you so much :D**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself are owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Hayden Miranda Pines is a figment of my imagination.**

 **\- psychopathicdorito**


	6. VI

"I swear to fucking god, Hayden."

I grinned innocently and enthusiastically up at Dipper, whose 'are-you-kidding-me-with-this-shit' expression - our Dipper had gone to become really expressive over the years - seemed to tell me that I had possibly ruined his only sweet, scientific escape from...well, whatever he was escaping from.

"Come _on_ , Dipper! It's just one dance! The whole town's gonna be here! Even Pacifica's coming!"

Oh. That.

I smirked as I continued tinkering with the wires on the floor, connecting this to that with the rapidly decreasing electrical tape. There was no way I could explain to Dipper what I was doing or what was going on in the time that his impending threat was going to catch him, and he knew that as well, so he simply groaned and tiredly turned his head once he heard his name whined out.

"Come on, even Hayden's coming! You can't possibly be the only teenager in Gravity Falls not coming!"

Dipper turned to me, as if to blame me for actually agreeing to come. I shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, Mabel was very persuasive." I lied. The real reason was because she had hidden my laptop and I had no way of finding it - Mabel's thoughts were well hidden - and the only way she would give it back was for me to agree to go to her party - and let her choose what I would wear.

"You were the only excuse I had left, you know." Dipper grumbled as Mabel started tugging him towards the exit. I gave him one last mock apologetic glance before I heard the telltale sound of the vending machine close from upstairs.

"Is the coast clear, Flame?" I whispered.

"Crystal."

I grinned up at the ceiling. "Thanks." I said, grabbing my backpack. Who was Flame? The AI Dad and Dipper had built for me. Why was she named Flame? I accidentally set her mainframe on fire. It's a wonder she's still functioning properly, to be honest.

I snapped on the portable AI watch Dipper had invented for me. That way, I could carry Flame on my wrist, and people would think it was just an ordinary watch! Plus, having Flame on my wrist made Dad feel safer about me heading into the forest alone - but not completely, though.

That was why I had Flame check the perimeters. Dad was up watching Ducktective with Uncle Stan, and if I could make it out of the house without him hearing the vending machine or screen door open and close, then I could look for that mysterious chained kid in peace.

Well, maybe not in peace, seeing as I was pressured to find him.

I climbed up the rope ladder I had set just below the hole Dipper had made all those years ago - that's right, no one actually bothered to fix that hole. And no one bothered to think it would be the perfect escape.

My eyes peeked out from under the porch. I could hear nothing but my own heavy breathing and the sound of a woodpecker somewhere deep in the forest. Once I strained my ears enough, I could hear the sound of the television still going strong, and Dad's complaints over Uncle Stan's chuckles. I assumed Mabel would resort to taking Dipper's measurements in their room rather on the front porch, so I scurried out of there quickly and ran to the forest.

I stopped after five minutes, sure I was at least deep enough into the forest to not get caught by Dad or Dipper if they ever saw me and decided to follow.

"Ready for your first hunt, Flame?" I mumbled as I fished around for my journal.

"I doubt it is proper to call this a 'hunt'. There is a chained and possibly tortured being out there who needs your help."

"Rescue mission, then."

"That's one way of putting it."

I raised an eyebrow as I trudged deeper into the forest, dead leaves and branches crunching under my feet. "Dad and Dipper must have worked really hard to make you act like a real person."

"No comment."

I rolled my eyes as I paid more attention to the map in front of me. There were scribbles all over it - places where I had been where I hadn't found any trace of anomalies or where I had found anomalies but it had turned out to be gnomes and other mythical creatures. Here's hoping I didn't run into a unicorn in the process.

"Maybe he's near the waterfall! I've never been there before. Let's go check it out, Flame." I said, stuffing my journal back into my backpack.

"Do I have a choice? It's not like I can walk away, can I?" Flame practically grumbled. For someone who was supposed to be helping me out, she was certainly becoming someone who went against everything I wanted to do - like the exact same opposite of me.

But then again, there were more important things at risk here, and I new Flame would be able to help me find the mystery kid faster than I could on my own.

* * *

"I told you it wouldn't be that easy."

"Flame, shut up."

Four and a half hours later, and I was certain we had scoured the whole of the Gravity Falls forest. At this point, I wasn't sure what was wrong - either the anomaly detector was busted, or I had lost my mind and there really wasn't a chained kid.

But that was completely impossible! Having two dreams in a row (if you could call them dreams) about the same person you haven't even met in your entire life must mean something! And I doubted I had that much creativity to think up an elaborate story - and I don't think I have the insanity to think of a pink cat as a protagonist.

No matter what the case, however, I still ended up with the same result - tired, hungry, and with no success.

"Hayden! There you are, where on Earth have you been?" Dad exclaimed as soon as I walked inside. They were eating dinner. Pancakes for dinner.

"I was out." I said, taking a seat at the far end of the table. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I poked my pancake with my fork. Sure, I was hungry, but my lack of success had made me lose my energy to do anything.

The rest of my family talks about their day - mostly it's Mabel taking about how she plans to redecorate the Shack. It's a wonder she actually got Uncle Stan to say yes, because he's always said no up until this point. It might be because Dad promises to confiscate Dipper of the journal.

I'll be waiting to see _that._

After dinner was over, I trudged back to my bedroom silently. Flame had stayed silent the whole time I was eating, so I expected her to restart talking at maximum energy yet again.

But she stayed silent.

I didn't care. The kid had said he was stuck in the forest. He couldn't lie to me if he was really supposed to tell me everything that I asked for.

"We looked _everywhere,_ Flame. Everywhere! And I still couldn't find him!" I exclaimed, throwing my pillow on the floor in frustration.

"The anomaly detector didn't find any anomalies in the forest, did it?"

"You were there, Flame. No use for me repeating it."

"I'm not Flame."

My eyes went wide, and I glanced to see Mabel standing silently in front of my door. That's right, I forgot to lock my door in my rage.

"Rough day?" Mabel asked, setting a small package onto my table.

I sighed. "Yeah. It wasn't really what I expected." Then I realized something and looked on at Mabel with shock. "Wait, how-"

"I saw you running into the forest from the bedroom window. I didn't tell Dipper because I knew you wouldn't just go into the forest without a reason."

Mabel looked at me, as if to say there was no use hiding that I was searching for something. I instantly felt guilty for thinking Mabel wouldn't notice. Of course she would notice. Contrary to popular belief, Mabel had a remarkable sense of observation around people she cared about. If they cut off an inch of hair, Mabel would notice. If they were lying, Mabel could sense it like a bloodhound. And if they were hiding something, Mabel would be able to tell.

But the good thing about Mabel was that she also kept secrets. She never told anyone about a secret even her worst enemy had told her - she was too kind to do that. Even after all these years and all that high school drama, Mabel was still carefree and lovable and kind. I envied that about her.

"It's a really weird story." I warned, and Mabel just sat herself on the floor, looking up at me as she smirked.

"We're part of a really weird family." she stated, and I let out a deep breath before relaying my story. Not once did I see an inch of emotion or reaction cross her face, she just seemed to be considering everything I was saying. When I finished with my lack of success for the day, she let a minute of silence pass before standing up and dusting herself off.

"I think I know why you didn't find anything."

I looked up in bewilderment. "You do? Seriously?"

She nodded. "Wait here."

After a few seconds, she came back with an old newspaper. "Check out the headline."

It was the Gravity Falls Gossiper. I didn't read the local news because nothing important ever happened, and besides, this issue was an old one - probably about two years old. Mabel had only ever saved the paper because it was on that day two years ago that they returned back to Gravity Falls for the summer. It was a ritual of hers, saving the newspaper from the first day of their summer vacation. It was a weird hobby, but like Mabel said, we were also part of a weird family.

Living in a weird town.

A weird town where people never read the boring old newspaper, so people behind the newspaper were pressured to make headlines as interesting as possible.

Well, my congratulations to the people behind the newspaper two years ago, because this headline was, at the moment, the most interesting headline I had ever seen.

 _ **Gravity Falls' Mini Golf Course: A Forest of Mystery**_

Bingo.

* * *

 **A/N: If that was a real headline, I'm pretty sure it would be the worst headline in history. I mean, reading it out loud makes me cringe. That's the whole point, though, so I guess I'm going to leave it like that.**

 **Apologies if I haven't been updating as recently as I did before, I'm trying my best to juggle all of these fandoms at the same time. I promise that I won't abandon this story, I'll try my very best to complete this. But from what I've seen of the latest episode and the next episode's preview, I might not finish before the series ends.**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Hayden Miranda Pines is a figment of my imagination.**

 **\- psychopathicdorito**


	7. VII

"You really didn't have to come along, Mabel."

"Yes, I did. Otherwise Dipper or Grunkle Ford would have to come with you, and I know you don't want that. And if you tried to sneak out with that talking watch, you'd just come home all grumpy-like, and I can't let that happen."

I rolled my eyes playfully as Mabel started yapping on about my 'happiness meter'. Apparently, it had drastically lowered in the past few days, and it had started when I had started sneaking out to find the mystery kid, and Mabel wasn't about to let my happiness meter go any lower.

It hadn't taken that much for me to allow her to tag along. She had asked in front of Dad, and I knew that if I rejected, Dad would just allow her to spy on me. At least this way, I could make her promise to lie to anyone who asked about my whereabouts, and I wouldn't go insane just talking to Flame on my wrist.

Also, she was physically stronger than she looked, and I needed her strength with my wimp-like abilities.

We parked our bikes near the corner and I stared in awe at the locked up Gravity Falls Royal Discount Putt Hutt. It looked like a haunted house - the paint was rotting away and everything. I had never been here before, I had only heard stories from Dipper and Mabel about what they dubbed the 'Golf War'. Ever since then, the Putt Hutt had stayed closed.

The wooden gate still had pencils and an axe impaled in it, but even they had grown old with age.

"How are we gonna get in?" I asked, pushing the gate with my palms. The gate only creaked, but it didn't move.

"Is this thing gonna help?"

I turned around to find Mabel with a magnet gun in her hand, and I swear my jaw fell right open. "A magnet gun?! Dad doesn't even let me _look_ at these things, how'd you get one?"

"I borrowed it from Dipper! Well, borrowed meaning I grabbed it when he wasn't looking, but I'll give it back later." Mabel said, handing me the gun.

"How'd _Dipper_ manage to get his hands on a magnet gun?" I wondered, turning it over in my hand.

"He said Grunkle Ford gave it to him! I think it was when Bill tried to take over the world, remember that?" Mabel asked cheerily. I shuddered as I remembered the post-apocalyptic mess - the screams of the people, the burning town, and worst of all, the way our family had been shattered. A memory of Mabel floating in a pink bubble while Bill laughed maniacally flashed through my head, and I let out a deep breath as I forced myself to forget it.

Right now, I had to find that kid. If Bill was behind all this, then maybe he could help us before the dream demon tried taking over the world again.

I turned the knob to magnet pulse on the gun and placed the end on the gate. There was a loud whining sound before the sound of a loud explosion, sending me and Mabel flying. We landed on the pavement seconds later, along with pieces of wood from the gate.

"Huh. Guess it worked then. You okay?" Mabel said, standing up and extending a hand to help me up. I accepted it gratefully and we both looked around, but apparently no one thought the sound of breaking wood or an explosion was interesting, because no one was around.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I reassured her, picking up the magnet gun from where it had been thrown aside.

"Woah. That looks way creepier than before."

I had to agree with her - whatever state the Putt Hutt used to be in was history now. All the attractions were either rotting or already broken, and the weeds that grew alongside the moss made it look even creepier.

As I walked forward, Mabel extended an arm to stop me, and when I sent her a questioning glance, she sent me a knowing one. "Listen, I should go first. I know these little dudes more than you do." she said.

Well, she was right. I nodded, gesturing for her to go first. She grinned before walking slightly ahead of me, her golf club (she had insisted on bringing it along) raised in defense as she looked left and right. I followed slowly after, the magnet gun loaded and ready to fire.

After about a few minutes of us walking about slowly with my anomaly detector detecting absolutely nothing, Mabel stopped and turned to face me, golf club no longer raised. "Huh. Maybe they're dead?" she suggested.

"Maybe they got caught up in Bill's weirdness wave and that turned them normal." When Mabel sent me nothing but a confused glance, I decided to carry on. "You know, maybe weirdness waves make normally weird things normal, which is weird for weird...things."

"You lost me." Mabel admitted.

"I lost myself too." I groaned, leaning against a wall so I was facing Mabel. "You know, I should -"

"LOOK OUT!"

Before I could react to Mabel's shout, she had pushed me aside, making me lose my balance and fall to the ground, which also resulted in my glasses flying off my face. "Sorry! You hurt?" Mabel shouted again, her voice strained.

I groped around for my glasses, hurriedly putting them on when I found them. "Yeah, sorry, I was- _woah_."

Mabel gritted her teeth and her hand clenched the gun tighter. "Hayden, meet the goblins that tried to kill Pacifica."

"You guys tried to kill Pacifica?" I echoed. Pacifica Northwest was unlike her past self, and she hung out a lot with Dipper, Mabel, and I when she had the time. When the school year would come around again, she would always join Candy, Grenda, and I for lunch, and would mostly hang out with me when classes were over (Candy and Grenda had their own thing going on, so we left them be). Of course, a lot of people questioned Pacifica for it, but no one had the nerve to tell her they thought we were weird.

And if they did, Pacifica always made sure to show that person how much she cared about their opinion.

"Only because she told us to!" one spoke up, glaring at Mabel.

"I told you to help me _defeat_ her! At _mini golf!_ How could you mistake that for me wanting to _kill_ her, you psychopathic jerks!" Mabel growled. I took a step back in alarm. I knew how much Mabel valued her position as a good person, and how much she wanted to keep her 'badness record' clean.

"Okay, easy, calm down. Mabel, these jerks definitely need to be punished, but you're going to release them accidentally if you don't be careful." I said, trying to calm her down. Mabel let out a large breath and tightened her grip again, still keeping her glare on the golf ball creatures.

"That's good!" I praised, grinning at her. When I turned back to face the golf balls, however, I gave them one of my most menacing glares. "Listen up, jerks. If you don't follow exactly what we say, we're going to set this gun to explode the bits of your tiny little existence into thin air. And we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" I said sweetly.

"Also, I pooped out the sticker years ago. It's not in my stomach anymore. If you tear my stomach up you'll find nothing." Mabel spoke up. I didn't understand what that was about and what she was talking about, but it seemed to have an effect on the golf balls as they visibly slumped, looking annoyed and mumbling under their breaths.

"What is it, hugelings? What is so important that you need to disturb our peaceful abode?" one golf ball creature, wearing what looked like a miner's outfit, snapped at me.

I wanted to tell him that there was literally nothing about the Putt Hutt that screamed 'peaceful' to me, but decided to skip it. "Have you heard of anything weird - well, weirder - around here? Something out of place, something you've been worrying about but don't know how to solve?" I asked.

The golf balls exchanged glances - most of them seemed worried and anxious. I caught words like, "We can't trust these hugelings.", "We need all the help we can get.", and "There's nothing else we can do.". Mabel looked my way, as if asking me what was going on, but I could only shrug in response. I was only hoping that they were talking about something important to our search.

"Alright, hugelings. We'll help you, on one condition." a golf ball in a pirate costume said.

"And that would be?" I asked. Mabel's grip tightened once again, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for them to talk.

"A new home. A place where we can fulfill our need to serve!" a female voiced golf ball cried, and I made a face as I noticed her tearful eyes. I understood the 'need to serve' and all, but did she really need to cry? What, were they going to break out into a dance number next?

"We can totally do that! My twin brother and I go home every summer, and there's a mini golf course near where we live, you can totally live there." Mabel said cheerily, as if they hadn't wanted to tear her stomach out a few minutes ago.

"There, we have an agreement. Now can we see this anomaly?" I asked.

The golf balls all nodded enthusiastically, and the golf ball who had spoken first finally nodded. Mabel and I exchanged a successful grin, and we trudged deeper into the Putt Hutt as the head golf ball gave directions, heading off with only a magnet gun and a golf club to defend ourselves.

What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

 **A/N: YOU GUYS! IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE LATEST EPISODE OF GRAVITY FALLS, YOU NEED TO DO IT. RIGHT. NOW. YOU WILL SCREAM WITH SADNESS AND FEELS AND AWE AND SHOCK AND JUST - WATCH IT.**

 **To all of those who** _ **have**_ **watched it: heads up, guys! Part 2 comes out November 23. That's right, Gravity Falls is on hiatus once again.**

 **To H80NP: I'm so glad you like the story! It means so much to me that you commented, and I greatly appreciate that you informed me that you would be waiting! I dedicate this chapter to you! :)**

 **I would love it if you guys left more comments! I'd love to hear what you guys think. ^_^**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Hayden Miranda Pines is a figment of my imagination.**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	8. VIII

News flash: the golf balls didn't ditch us or retry to rip out Mabel's stomach. Instead, they brought us to the place that looked looked like it had been ripped out straight from Disney's _The Jungle Book._

"I don't remember seeing this when we were here." Mabel gaped.

"Neither did we. It just...appeared there! We thought you hugelings had put it there, because we can't get in." a golf ball - sorry, Lilliputtian - named Franz said.

"What do you mean, you can't get in? There's a huge gaping hole smack dab in the middle of it!"

The Lilliputtains looked at one another with a knowing glance. "Of course, that's what you think."

Before we could ask what _that_ meant, Franz threw a pebble (with great difficulty, may I add) at the gaping hole.

There was a loud boom and I gasped as I stared at the mound of dust on the ground directly below where the pebble had been.

"That's no ordinary force field then." I mumbled.

"How many?" Mabel suddenly asked.

"Huh?" I asked, confused. "What are you-"

"How many, Franz?" Mabel asked again, this time looking at the creature in question.

Franz looked up at Mabel in defeat, his shoulder slumped. "We stopped counting after the first dozen. There's only us left now." he murmured, gesturing to the group with him.

"But there were almost one thousand of you guys before, and now there are..." Mabel paused to count the Lilliputtians, and she gulped. "...16."

"We kept telling them it was too dangerous, but Mary said it was because it was like something was calling for help. She said it sounded like one of us. The next day, she was dead." Franz continued, looking sorrowful as he did so.

Felicia's ringing laugh came back to me as I realized why the kid had said 'last time, it wasn't me'.

Even if he really was the one trapped inside the force field, Felicia had been the one to lure countless creatures into his first line of defense, pleading for help as bait. She probably sounded like their own kind just to make them feel even more pity.

Maybe that was all Felicia was. A bored demon, who, like Bill, just wanted to watch people die at their very hands just for fun.

But that didn't make sense either! If it was a trick, Felicia wouldn't be able to appear when the kid was present - and they both were there in the dreamscape. Dad had told me that in both the physical realm and in the dream world, demons had limitations to their abilities. They could shape shift and duplicate themselves, but they couldn't do them at the same time.

If Felicia had shape-shifted into the kid, she wouldn't have been able to appear as a pink cat.

"Hayden?"

I blinked once, twice, then stared up blankly as Mabel looked at me in concern. "I've called you what, three times? You okay?"

I gave her a small smile. I could have said, "No, I'm not okay.", or "Pink cat demons are messing with me, do you think I'm okay?!", but she had enough to worry about - did I mention that the party was this night?

I shifted my attention to the Lilliputtians. "For now, maybe you should come home with us. This place proves to be too dangerous for even you guys, so Mabel will be able to take care of you until you reach Piedmont. Before we leave, though, do you think there is any way we could break that force field without dying?" I asked.

Franz frowned for a minute, and then he perked up. "Well, there's this weird writing on the force field. One of our experts cracked it." he said, and before I could ask how and why they needed experts when all they were doing before _this_ all happened was making sure golf balls did or didn't make the hole, he handed me a tiny piece of paper.

"Um...thanks." I mumbled, wanting to mention that I couldn't read the writing even if I did have perfect eyesight.

"Here."

I looked down to see one of the smaller Lilliputtians dragging a magnifying glass, and thanked her before bringing it up to my eye.

" _Of demon's blood this field I bind, of the same blood freedom shall find_." I read the written words slowly.

"So the kid's a dream demon?" Mabel asked softly.

I shook my head, still staring in confusion at the inscription. "Maybe he used Bill or Felicia's blood to set the force field." I suggested.

That was already an impossible thing in itself. A kid using someone as strong as Bill or Felicia to get blood from just to make a force field? And why? Why make a force field to keep yourself in?

Nothing made sense, and I had no idea -

"HAYDEN WE'RE GOING NOW!"

 _What?_

I yelped as Mabel grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me behind her as she ran out of the golf place.

"Why are we going already?" I whined, sounding like I was a three year old kid who was being forced to leave the toy store.

"I have to get ready for the party! I have to get _you nerds_ ready for the party!" she explained, dumping the Lilliputtians into her bike's basket.

"But the kid could still be in there!" I complained.

"And if he has a force field that kills everything that comes near it, he doesn't need our help. He'll be fine, trust me." Mabel pleaded.

I glanced at the Putt Hutt, then back at Mabel's pleading face, sighing as i finally gave in and grabbed my bike.

"Thank you, Hayden!" my cousin exclaimed, hugging me before riding her bike. "Meet you at the Shack!"

I looked back at the Putt Hut one more time before riding my own bike. "I'll come back for you." I said, before biking away.

Once I had made it back to the Shack, barely had time to greet Dad before Mabel grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into her and Dipper's room.

"You have a bad habit of pulling me by the arm." I groaned.

"Shh. I'm trying to think of your make-up - AHA!" Before I could ask what she was talking about, I was forced into a seat in front of a huge make-up mirror.

Powder and lipstick and mascara and eye shadow sat on the table in front of the mirror, and I found myself being poked and prodded by every one of those - something I hadn't experienced since I joined my first (and last) play when I was in the 2nd Grade.

"I won't let you look until I'm done with you." Mabel said, carefully placing a blindfold over my eyes. "I want you to be surprised."

If there's one thing I learned about Mabel, it's that you don't question her when she's sure about things. So I simply nodded and let her get her way with my hair.

A few minutes later, she helped me stand up and get into my dress - that proved to be the hardest. She still insisted I wear the blindfold, so it took about half an hour to wear everything she wanted me to wear.

"And now for the finishing touch!" Mabel announced, and I felt something settle around my neck. "There. I'll take the blindfold off now."

"So, what do you think?" she asked as soon as I opened my eyes.

It's worth mentioning that the theme of Mabel's party for this year was a countryside-themed one, so the fact I was wearing what I what I was wearing at the moment wasn't a shock to me, but it didn't mean I was less amazed.

Cowboy boots weren't a shock, and neither was the denim vest. Probably everyone would be wearing it. The beautiful dress I was wearing, even if it did have a skirt that was a lot less shorter than what I usually wore, was simple but in my eyes, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

It also might have been the most beautiful thing I would ever wear.

Then there was Mabel's signature flower crown. She didn't buy these, instead insisting on making them herself.

Mabel had made a nerd look like a beauty queen in under an hour. Right now, I was genuinely suspecting she had made a deal with some supernatural being for her more than normal abilities.

"I don't know what to say, Mabel, but thank you!" I squealed, hugging her tightly.

"Hey, hey, careful with your makeup! I don't want all my hard work to go to waste." Mabel giggled, smoothing down my dress and adjusting my denim jacket. "And I also don't want this to break."

She turned over the teardrop necklace I had on. "You know, I don't remember where I got it, but I knew that I had to make you wear it. See? It looks perfect on you."

"Aw, Mabel, thanks. Really. You do too much for your nerdy cousin." I grinned, still marveling at myself in the mirror. Call me vain, sure, but you're lying if you said you'd never felt the same after someone made you look beautiful.

"Don't mention it!" she beamed. "I'm gonna go downstairs to help Wendy out with the food, come down when you're done being amazed at how beautiful you are. Take a selfie or two. See ya!"

The door slammed shut before I could reply. While I continued looking over my outfit, I noticed the necklace seemed to glow brighter. Maybe it was just the sun's rays?

Whatever the reason, it seemed mystical and magical, and I was reminded once again how lucky I was that Mabel had bought it for me.

I wonder _where_ she had bought it, though.

* * *

 **A/N: I know, I know. Crappy ending. Believe me, I know. I'm also very sorry I haven't updated as fast as I wanted to, I've just been very busy. Sorry!**

 **Oh, if you're wondering why Hayden's dress wasn't described, it's because I want you guys to imagine what you want her to wear (also I'm very lazy and not good at describing dresses).**

 **Thank you again to H80NP (I forgot the Lilliputtians had names, wow!) I still want to hear your comments, so please leave any if you can! I don't bite! :)**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Hayden Miranda Pines is a figment of my imagination.**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	9. IX

_"What 'ya gonna, what 'ya gonna do with that dessert?"_

"I have _no_ idea how she's still that hyper." Dipper commented as we watched Mabel and Pacifica engage in a dance-off as they were cheered on by the crowd.

"She says it's the Mabel Juice, but I have a hard time believing that." I agreed, taking a sip out of my cup (you know, the red ones that you see in movies).

If anyone had walked in, they would have thought that the party had been going on for about an hour.

It had actually just started five minutes ago.

"These are really good brownies." Dipper said while he munched through one of the said confectioneries. "Who made these?"

"Dad did!" I said cheerily, grabbing one myself. As of the moment, Dipper and I were the only ones not dancing our asses off, instead choosing to watch in amusement while trying every food there was to offer.

"Is that why I saw him wearing an apron a while back that said _'Kiss The Scientist'_?" Dipper asked, raising an eyebrow as he smirked.

"That is and will always be a mystery, Dippingsauce." I said, playfully using the nickname I had heard Mabel use long ago.

"You guys enjoying yourselves?" I turned around to see Wendy refilling the chips as she grinned our way.

"Well, fun is contagious." Dipper shrugged, gesturing, I assumed, to the bright lights and blasting pop songs.

"You got that right. Mabel's parties are always the best in town." Wendy said, leaning against the wall like Dipper and I had done. "This place is always boring when you guys aren't around."

"Yeah, I mean, sure, there are anomalies here and there, but it's not the same without you guys." I agreed.

"You guys are getting sentimental as hell...Thanks." Dipper smiled, and Wendy and I smiled back.

Sometimes it was good to have these moments, just leaning against the wall as we became sentimental about stuff and drank punch. Sure, I cherished weirdness and even welcomed it with open arms, but sometimes normal wasn't so bad.

"Hey, is that one of those glowing necklaces? Sweet." Wendy said, gesturing to my necklace.

I quirked an eyebrow. "What are you - _oh my God_."

Halfway through my sentence, Dipper had shoved his phone under my face so that I could see myself using the front view of the camera. The once blue teardrop was now a bright gold, glowing brighter and softer every now and then.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Dipper asked me.

"Woah, wait, is it one of those anomalies?" Wendy added, eyes wide and curious.

"I-I don't know!" I cried, hurriedly taking it off. "Mabel gave it to me, and she doesn't remember where she got it either."

As I held the necklace an arm's length away from me, I noticed the liquid material inside the pendant. A while back, it had looked like water, but now, as it glowed bright and gold the color started to become familiar.

"This is the same color Bill is. This might be Bill's blood!" I exclaimed.

"Woah, what?! How do you know that?" Wendy asked, facing me and letting her arms fall to her sides.

"Well, Dad said that demon's blood is the same color as they are. This is exactly what I need!" I exclaimed.

I hurriedly explained to both Wendy and Dipper about the dreams I'd been having and the kid I'd talked to in my sleep. After I had told them the tale about the Putt Hutt, Dipper put his cup on the table and grabbed my arm.

"We don't have time to lose, then. Wendy, can you explain the situation to Mabel? I'm sure she'll understand." Dipper said.

"I got your back, guys. Be careful out there, okay?" Wendy said, ruffling our hair as we grinned up at her in gratitude.

"Thank God I'm wearing boots." I murmured as Dipper and I hurriedly weaved through crowds of dancing teens.

Once we had made it out in the cold night (which was surprising considering it was supposed to be summer), Dipper immediately made his way to the golf cart, starting up the engine as I watched in disbelief. "Um, where did you get those keys?" I asked, knowing that they were always under watch by Uncle Stan. They were constantly in his pocket, so how...?

"I may be a nerd but Grunkle Ford isn't the only person I take after." Dipper winked.

I opened my mouth so say something else, but then the sound of the necklace growing louder interrupted me. Dipper and I exchanged another look and I jumped in next to him as he floored the accelerator and zoomed off to the Putt Hutt.

Word of advice: jumping off a speeding golf cart, no matter how much you're in a hurry, is never a good thing to do.

"Hayden, oh my God!" Dipper exclaimed, quickly parking the golf cart neatly (yes, while in an hurry) before running to me. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" I lied. What was more important to me was what was glowing gold inside the Putt Hutt. "And besides, that's not important."

"Hayden, wait up!" I heard Dipper yell from behind me, but I didn't care.

I had no idea why my cousin wasn't following me immediately, but maybe it was because he was still trying to process what was going on. Maybe it was because of the blood that was trickling down my arm and face after gashing them both in my fall.

But all I knew was that it wasn't more important than this. Nothing was more important than this.

I halted to a stop in front of the ruins we had seen not a while back. This time, however, the "invisible" barrier wasn't so invisible anymore.

Try a shining gold.

My necklace was shining even brighter now, and I was so certain what I was about to was the right thing to do. I could free him, all the questions I needed to ask him would be answered!

As I took a closer look at the necklace, I realized that it wasn't designed to be opened.

Minor setback. I got ready to throw the necklace against the ground the barrier was located in, knowing that one way or another the blood would reach it.

"HAYDEN, WAIT!"

Too bad. It couldn't wait.

In the split second after (what sounded like) my father screamed at me, I felt what seemed to me at the time like a strong gust of wind picking me off my feet, deciding it wanted nothing to do with me, and then throwing me against the ground as hard as it could. As if my bruised face wasn't enough for me to deal with.

"Hayden?"

I made a small grunt, flicking off the fake leaves that had covered my face and body, and raised my hand, waving it around. Not soon after, Dad came running, a concerned look on his face as he let out a relieved sigh after seeing me somewhat okay.

"I thought I had lost you. I thought you were gone for good." he said, giving me a bone-crushing hug. Like, literally bone-crushing. As much as I appreciated it, I didn't want anymore of my body broken.

"Uh, Dad? I think I may have broken a bone or two, so..." I laughed nervously, and immediately he let me go, looking me up and down.

"Can you walk? Are you sure you're okay?" Dad asked me. I opened my mouth to answer the question, but decided against it once I saw the scene behind me.

A body, coughing and wheezing as he struggled to stand. Nearby, two figures stood, just watching and not moving to help him. Upon closer inspection, the two figures were Dipper and Mabel.

Wait...Mabel? How did Mabel get here?

 _And why was no one helping him up?_

"What are you all doing just standing there?!" I exclaimed, walking over angrily. "There's a person who needs help who's been trapped in a barrier made my a literal demon for who knows _how_ long, and you're all just standing there like a bunch of idiots?!"

Mabel winced at my outburst, and for a split second I regretted it. I didn't have time to regret it, though, because Dipper looked at me, eyes wide with fear, and mumbled, "Hayden, I think you have to take a closer look at him."

"I told you a thousand times." a new voice mumbled, softer, weaker, than anyone else I had ever heard. I spun around, and found the boy staring at me. The irises of his eyes were a beautiful gold, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. His clothes were ragged, and his hair was too, but it was oh so beautiful.

And oh so familiar.

I'd seen the color before. In fact, I'd seen it far too much for my own liking. The last time I'd seen it was not long ago. In a teardrop shaped pendant made of glass, swirling around as clear liquid.

"No." I murmured in horror, taking a step back. What a hypocrite I was, yelling at my cousins for not doing what I didn't want myself to do now.

The boy smiled. He looked my age, but I knew he was far from it. He was probably a billion years old. Probably more.

"It was for your own good, Hayden. You didn't believe me." He looked up once again, giving me a sad smile. "But considering our history, you have all the reason not to."

He collapsed to the ground, unconscious but very much alive. And although every bone in my body was screaming for me to help him, I couldn't.

It wasn't important.

The most important thing as of the moment was figuring out how I was going to live with the knowledge that I had released Bill Cipher into Gravity Falls once again.

* * *

 **A/N: Sooooo here's the thing. I didn't really want to continue this story anymore because I was losing hope that it was worth it, but then a boost of confidence later, here I am! There's really not enough of an apology I can make for taking so long to update, but if you guys are interested in some of the reasons:**

 **1.) I drowned in Undertale trash.**

 **2.) Depression sucks big time.**

 **3.) Gravity Falls ending was making me question whether I really could get enough motivation to finish this at all.**

 **But then these things happened:**

 **1.) I was filled with DETERMINATION. **

**2.) My friends, both irl and online, are the best people ever.**

 **3.) Gravity Falls always will give me the motivation to finish things even after the series finale.**

 **That being said, I'm going to be ready to cry my heart out when the finale comes (a day after my prom, great) along with all you guys, but all thought of abandoning this story has fled my mind.**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	10. X

"Now, keep this arm rested, alright? You've recently been out of a coma, Ms. Pines, breaking parts of your body is going to give you a higher risk of slipping back into one."

Usually, I would have rolled my eyes at the doctor's idiotic advice that anyone's common sense would have told them, but this time I just nodded my head, feeling numb and out of focus.

 _Bill Cipher. I had just let Bill Cipher into this dimension again._

"Hayden! You okay?" Dipper asked me, jumping off the steel chairs as soon as he saw me. I gave a nod, walking straight for the exit, shoulders slumped. I must have looked like a zombie.

Then again, if anyone knew what I had done, they'd probably want me dead.

"Hayden! Where do you think you're going?" I heard Uncle Stan call after me, but I simply shrugged and continued walking past the car.

Everywhere I looked, an image of what that place had looked like during Weirdmageddon flashed through my head.

Over there, Mabel's Time Bubble once stood.

And over there, there was once a big 'X' that had marked Bill's entry into our dimension.

And what now? Would everything just repeat? Or would Bill despise us so much that he would double, even triple maybe, the consequences?

Behind me, I heard the crunch of someone stepping on a fallen branch and I whirled around to find the weirdest sight I had seen so far.

Bill, once a triangle-shaped demon hellbent on destruction, was now a teenage boy my age with two eyes, and he was wearing a hospital gown. Beside him, whispering stuff into his ear and sort of forcing him towards me was Mabel, who gave me a look once she saw me staring.

"Tell her what happened." she demanded, pushing Bill towards me.

Before I could ask what she was talking about, she ran off in the opposite direction, ushering Dad, Uncle Stan, and Dipper away.

"What, here to gloat about your victory." I snapped, getting a shock when Bill winced at my harsh words. What had happened to the smug, evil demon after everything that had happened?

"I'm not a demon anymore, if that's what you want to know." Bill said, his voice calmer but still holding the same pitch.

"Do you think I'm _stupid_?!" I scoffed, a crazed smile making it's way onto my face. "I know you just possessed someone to fool us. Well, guess what? You're not fooling anyone, so why don't you just kill us all now already. You're going to do it sooner or later."

"I'm not messing with you, Hayden. They undid what they had done to me before." Bill murmured.

Even though I was still fuming mad at myself and believed that Bill was out to get us, what he said _did_ spark my interest.

"What do you mean, 'undid'?" I asked, although still somewhat rudely.

Though I wasn't looking at his direction, I saw Bill perk up from my peripheral version. He sat down onto the edge of a nearby cliff overlooking the small town of Gravity Falls. I followed suit, sitting a few inches away from him.

"You see, I'm not actually a demon." Bill started, pursing his lips when he heard me stifle a laugh. "Yeah, fine, don't believe me. But I used to be as human as I am now. And this," here he gestured to his body, "was exactly what I looked like."

"You. Human." I repeated. "Those aren't two words I'd put together in the same sentence unless there was a negation."

Despite my outburst, Bill continued on as if I hadn't spoken. "It was the Great Depression - and if you've paid enough attention to your history classes, you know how hard it was for us back then."

For some reason, as Bill spoke, I could imagine the scene in front of me. Bill, his body, hair, and face dirty with sweat and soil. His clothes were ragged and dirty, as if he had no other choice but to wear them, and he cowered behind what looked like a wall as two shadowed figures fought and shouted at each other.

"As flesh bags go, I was a pathetic one." Bill laughed. "And I cried all the time because my parents fought. I didn't want anything else other than for us to be happy. Maybe I should've stayed quiet about that."

Bill sighed, looking up at the setting sun. "I made a deal with a demon. Asked for my parents' happiness. And all I had to do was become a demon. Back then I was stupid, because I said yes without thinking. Next thing I know, I'm a triangle and all I can think about is murder, more murder, and _revenge_."

"What happened to your parents?"

Bill looked my way, then looked back up at the sky to shrug. "They're dead by now. Didn't have the sanity to remember them when I was a demon, and now it's impossible to find out. Besides, I'd only end up hating myself more if they died because of my stupidity."

"Why are you telling me all this? If you're telling the truth and I still don't believe you, I could kill you while you sleep." I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Bill laughed his usual high-pitched crazed laugh, and gave me a sharp grin. "As long as you give me statements like that every once in a while I'm pretty sure I'm okay with tolerating the fact you hate me."

"About that." I stated, still confused. "Why are you saying all this? Acting like I'm important. I'm the daughter of your arch nemesis, but that's all. I think you'd be more concerned on how the twins treat you."

I expected a grin, a wink, a teasing phrase, or whatever would have reminded me that Bill was just the same demon in a human form and _not_ a different person like part of me wanted to think, but all I got was an almost sympathetic look.

I watched as Bill walked back to where Mabel was waiting, her eyes shining with eagerness as if to ask what had happened. Bill raised his shoulders and then let them fall (a shrug), and Mabel's look turned to me, as if asking me what had happened. Unfortunately for her, I averted my gaze, not wanting to answer her questions or to deal with Bill as of the moment.

So, okay, fine, maybe I hadn't released a weapon of mass destruction into Gravity Falls. Maybe what I had released was a bomb with the countdown broken - it was still going on even though it looked like that it had stopped for good, and we would all just be surprised one day to find out that the bomb had exploded and we'd be back in the same hell we had tried so hard to fix.

"Oh, good, I thought he'd never leave."

"What is it with demons and shitty timing?" I faked asking sweetly, turning to face the pink cat I knew was there. She gave me a slight purr, licking her paw in contentment.

"What, are you going to blame _moi_ for your mistakes?" Felicia asked, face full of mock shock, as if taunting me - and I knew full well that was exactly what she was trying to do. "It's not my fault you wanted to save him so badly."

"You're the one who lied to me about him needing help in the first place!" I reminded her. "The dreams, everything! You made me believe he needed help."

"And tell me, doesn't he need help?" Felicia asked, taking two steps closer to where I was still sitting. "After what he just told you, are you sure he still doesn't need help?"

 _Wait a minute._

"I knew it." I whispered hoarsely. "This is all just a whole set-up to make me believe that Bill actually changed!"

Felicia said nothing, just giving me a nonchalant shrug as I stood up in anger, growling, "Well, it isn't your lucky day, 'cause you're not fooling anyone."

I stomped over to where everyone was talking, but they all went quiet when I pushed Bill to the ground. "Get your fucking hands off my cousin." I sneered with what I hoped looked like rage.

It must have been, because Bill looked at me with fear and surprise. "Hayden, I-"

"Hayden, he's telling the truth!" Mabel tried to persuade me. "He really was human before, and-"

"Mabel, don't be so gullible!" I exclaimed in exasperation, and Mabel cowered back as well. Dipper immediately went to comforting her, sending me a warning glare but I didn't care what they thought. It's what they needed to know was what was important.

"You think that just because you make a made-believe story, that I can relate to because all I want is to see my father happy, that I'll believe you just like that? You're even worse than before!" I yelled, hot tears streaming down my face. "Well, I got news for you, bud."

"Hayden-" Bill tried to plead, but I had had enough.

"I've had to live in a dimension where I had no idea if I would be ripped to shreds while I was asleep, or if my father would be able to come back that night. All my life I seeked for a chance to avenge my mother, and once I got to this dimension I got that chance by defeating you. Don't think that just because I'm broken on the inside, I'm letting you break me on the outside. I'm not weak, and you're. Not. Fooling. Anyone!"

"Hayden, that's enough!" Dipper exclaimed.

"You're all busy pitying the poor human-turned-demon because he's that good at lying! Well, guess what, people? As long as this guy's here, there's no such thing as peace anymore!"

 _And it's my_ _faul_ _t_.

"If you finally get to your senses and want to blame me, I'll be in my room packing my bags. I'm rather choose to be dead in the forests than allowing my emotions to lead to the death of others."

I started my walk home, expecting the others to follow me, but nobody did. All the better, I was alone with my bitter thoughts just like it should have always been.

Once I reached the Mystery Shack, I made a beeline for my room, stuffing Mom's jacket and a few other clothes in there. After slinging it over my shoulder, I grabbed the watch from my bedside table and proceeded to leave the Shack.

I didn't get to go that far.

A hand shot out to grab my backpack, pulling me back to face them.

"Hayden? Man, haven't seen you since last night - dude, are you _crying?!_ "

"No use hiding my face now." I tried to laugh, but Wendy didn't seem fooled.

"Come on, let's talk." she told me, leading me to a fallen log overgrown with vines. Once we had sat down, she put a supportive hand on my back, moving it up and down in a soothing manner. "Why do you look like you're leaving?"

"I am." I answered honestly.

"Uh-huh. Without Dr. Pines?"

I nodded. "Yeah, without Dad."

"And this isn't one of those monster hunt camps he doesn't know about, 'cause otherwise Dipper or Mabel would be here."

"Yeah."

"And Mr. Pines wouldn't let you leave if he knew, because then Dr. Pines would kill him. So no one knows you're leaving?"

"Yeah."

"So if I'm correct, you're running away. To…where, exactly?"

I gestured to the forest with my head. Wendy looked in the same direction, looking confused.

"The forest?"

Nod.

"You'll die."

"That's the plan."

The panicked look on Wendy's face somehow amused me. "You want to commit suicide?!"

I shook my head. "I'm letting nature kill me."

"So you're not planning on suicide."

I shook my head. No, suicide wasn't what I had had in mind."You're going to hide yourself in the forest, waiting 'till either starvation or predators kill you. Not suicide. Am I right?"

I nodded, a bit proud that she had gotten all that from my crazy actions.

" _That_ isn't right."

Wendy looked at me in what looked like mixed anger and sadness, her voice scarily calm as she stated, "Hayden, your family would go crazy looking for you, don't add to their troubles if you really love them."

"It's the reason I'm leaving in the first place, isn't it?" I murmured. "I'm the reason we're in this mess, and I'm better use to people dead than alive."

"Yes, of course, that makes total sense!"

I looked up at Wendy with shock. Although I really believed I was benefiting my family by leaving, I didn't expect Wendy to understand so perfectly.

"You'll be of much better use to Dipper and Mabel dead than alive, because Mabel won't have who she calls 'the best cousin in the world' to laugh and gossip and be generally silly about! And of course Dipper would absolutely love it if one of the few people he met that are his age who genuinely like science and whatever else he likes just died and disappeared, because he doesn't love his cousin at all." Wendy said, her sarcasm clear as day. "Of course Mr. Pines would love the face that his niece, whom he's only been with for a couple of years, would decide that she wasn't worth anything and disappear, leaving him to wonder what he did wrong and what he should've done."

As she continued to ramble about what everyone would feel, I found my vision getting blurrier and blurrier - which didn't make sense, because I was still wearing my glasses.

Once one of the tears made it's way down my face, however, I was suddenly hit with the realization that I had been crying.

"And of course, your dad. Dr. Pines." Wendy said, and just hearing his name made my heart sting a little bit. "Of course he'd feel absolutely dandy as a father, knowing that he lacked so much that his daughter had to give up on life. You know, his daughter, the light of his life, the only remembrance left of his wife, and he had failed her, and maybe, as a terrible father, he should just end his own life, and-"

"STOP IT! SHUT UP!" I screamed, putting my hands over my ears in a feeble attempt to block out Wendy's talking. The scene had been playing in my head, over and over, my father dead because of me.

 _What was I thinking?_

"Hayden, I'm sorry." Wendy said, softer this time as she crouched down to my eye level. I had crouched down by this time as well, overcome with grief and fear of what she had been relaying to me. "Look, the only way to talk you out of it was showing you - sort of - what would happen if you did go through with leaving them. I don't exactly know what's going on, never really did with all this demon stuff, but I know you enough to know that you're just guilty about what you did. And that's okay, people make mistakes. Even if it was a big mistake in your perspective, there's still a chance to fix it with a big solution. And that solution is being with the people you love and doing your best to help them solve this problem, okay? Leaving them is going to hurt all of us, and I know you don't want that. Do you?"

I shook my head. I must have looked like a kid, with Wendy talking to me softly like a school teacher and me crouched down, sobbing, now with hiccups as I tried to calm down.

Imagine what that must have looked like when everyone returned from the hospital.

"Hayden!" Dad called. Wendy stepped aside a split second before Dad engulfed me in a hug, his tears falling onto my shoulder as he sobbed, "Oh God I thought I had lost you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Dad." I laughed, though I was still crying. "I'm never ever ever going anywhere."

"PINES HUG!" Mabel shouted, and soon I was engulfed by Dipper, Mabel, and Uncle Stan as well.

"Honorary Pines like Wendy included." she then added soon after, and we all laughed as Wendy was joined in the hug as well.

For a split second, I opened my eyes to look over Dad's shoulders, and I saw Bill smiling at us with. There was a sentiment to his smile, as if he was remembering something.

Once he saw me looking, he gave me a smile as well, before walking off into our opposite direction.

I sighed, closing my eyes again and giving Dad a tighter hug.

How was it possible to feel pity for a being who had tried to kill us all?

* * *

 **A/N: Yep, made the next chapter immediately after! I really missed making this fic, so now I'm all ready to make new additions to the story!**

 **(Quick Fact: Prom's on Sunday!)**

 **Leave a review! :)**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	11. XI

I woke up to a pitch black sky.

"Wh-what?" I murmured, moving into a sitting position as I squinted at the sky. Maybe my glasses weren't on...?

I put my hand up to my face, frowning as I felt the rim of my glasses.

They were most definitely on.

"Hello?" I called, wincing as I heard my voice echo endlessly.

Where _was_ I?

"Oh, what a looker." a voice snickered from somewhere above me. "Definitely worth Cipher's immortality."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes, how extremely un-cliche. At least Bill was a _good_ villain."

Keeping an unimpressed face, I turned to see...

Nothing?

"No need to see what I look like." the voice said, and I cursed myself about letting my guard down. "All I need you to do is listen, after all."

"Are all demons like this? 'Cause Bill was at least new at first, but after him and Felicia and now _you_ , the whole 'make-a-deal-with-me-or-else-your-loved-ones-will-die' is getting _pretty_ boring."

My main goal here was to get him as annoyed as possible of me so I could figure out how to defeat him - it had worked on Bill before, it might work again.

Instead, the voice only let out a low chuckle, and I had to suppress a shudder.

Even if this new guy wasn't freaking me out, his evil laugh was a pretty good one. The kind that sends shivers down your spine.

"Oh, no, Hayden, you've got the wrong idea. Like you, I'm starting to think it's time to leave old traditions behind." There was a loud snap, and in front of me appeared what seemed like a galaxy - except it throbbed with life.

I could hear whispers, words I couldn't quite catch, and they sounded like they were beckoning me to come closer.

Another loud snap and the galaxy was gone.

"You've got so many questions, don't you? Ones much more _interesting_ than your father's, much more valuable to you. He's got questions about a place he's known for only about a few years, but you, oh." Another chuckle. "You never did know your mother, did you?"

I froze.

 _Mom?_

The demon must have read my mind, because he continued on with a hint of smugness to his voice, "Ah, yes. Lady Miranda Canterbury! Or should I say Pines? Your father and her were married, after all. The wedding was a splendid one, although secret. And your parents were so happy - pictures won't be able to do them justice."

"Why are you telling me this?" I stuttered.

"No, no, _no_ , Hayden. The question is why your father doesn't tell you this."

My hands curled into fists, breath coming in shallow breaths. "He has the right to grieve my mother, and nothing you can say will be able to make me see otherwise."

I could almost hear the shrug that came after. "Suit yourself. He is, after all, your father. I see why you'd trust him. But does _he_ trust _you_?"

"Of course he does." I scoffed. "I'm his daughter."

 _Snap._

In front of me were three reddish-black words, written in either anger or fear.

 **'TRUST NO ONE!'**

"Words your father wrote in his journal as a warning to himself and other people who might come across it. He didn't trust Stan, he didn't trust Dipper and Mabel - who's to say he trusts you?"

"I'm his _daughter_." I repeated, but now it sounded like I was only trying to reassure myself that Dad trusted me.

He had to, right?

"Your mother died shortly after giving birth to you. She's been dead for eighteen years, Hayden. I don't know, wouldn't you be able to move on?"

"She was _murdered_. No, I wouldn't be able to move on." I growled between gritted teeth.

"And who told you that, huh? Didn't you just hear that from one of the soldiers at your past dimension?" the voice taunted.

"You're not supposed to know about that." I whispered, genuinely afraid at that moment. And I wasn't doing a good job of hiding it, either.

"Ever since you were little, I've read your thoughts, saw into your mind. It's the biggest question in there, echoing over and over in different ways, but always the same question: Who's Mommy?"

All in a sudden, different voices - my voices from different ages - echoed throughout the place, bringing tears to my eyes as I was forced to listen to my unanswered question.

 _"Where's Mommy?"_

 _"Do you know what happened to my mom?"_

 _"What was my mom like?"_

 _"Why isn't Mommy here?"_

I shut my eyes, frantically covering my ears with my hands, sobbing as I screamed, "Stop! Please stop!" over and over.

The voice only laughed. "Poor Hayden." it murmured, over and over.

Still I sobbed on the floor, eyes still shut as I begged for silence, begged for everything to stop.

But mostly, I was begging for my mother. "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy." I sobbed, over and over.

That was how I was for what felt like hours.

Imagine my shock when I felt hands on my shoulders. By instinct, my fist went out to punch whatever I could without opening my eyes.

"Hayden, calm down. It's Bill! I'm not going to hurt you!"

I opened my eyes and sure enough, gold eyes looked straight at me with concern - and all at once I noticed the side of his face starting to bruise.

"Holy fuck! I swear, I didn't mean it this time!" I explained frantically, still sobbing as I said this.

"No, it's fine!" Bill said, looking somehow relieved. "I wanted to call Ford, but by the way you were screaming I knew I had to wake you up first."

A...dream?

That was a dream?

"Do you want me to go get him? 'Cause I can -"

"Stay with me for a while. Please."

Bill looked shocked, then relieved, as he nodded and sat down next to me. "Sure."

It had been a week ever since Bill had turned human. So far Mabel was the only one who had fully trusted him. Dipper was halfway there, especially after learning that he and Bill liked (read as: nerded out) the same things.

Uncle Stan was neutral about him, acting around him the same way he acted around most teenagers.

Dad was okay with him too. Bill and him had even spent one whole day talking about how he had become mortal again - something I was keen on finding out too.

So far, even if Bill was sleeping in the same room with me, I hadn't learned to accept his presence. So I understood why he would act so surprised.

"Um, Hayden?" Bill asked out of nowhere, breaking the nostalgic sound of the rain pattering onto the roof.

 _Sniffle._ "Yeah?"

"Maybe I should get Dipper, Ford, or Mabel. Maybe even Stan. You look like you'll need someone to comfort you." he sighed, standing up and making his way to the door.

I bit my lower lip, observing Bill silently. There was a look on his face I knew I had caused, and I didn't like it.

I'd seen the same look before, when Dad and I had first come out of the portal.

It was the same look Uncle Stan had given Dad when he thought he was going to kick him out of the Shack.

Just one look, but it had multiple meanings: one of which was that the person bearing it knew that he'd never be forgiven.

Over the days, I had been observing Bill to find out if he really had changed like he was saying. Even if I wasn't looking, he really was kind and acted like he had changed. I even had a camera installed in our shared room to check what he was doing when he thought nobody was looking, and all he was doing was sleeping and chatting with Mabel.

But the look on his face now, even if he knew I wasn't looking, he looked like he regretted everything he'd ever done.

"Wait!" I called out, and I heard the creak of footsteps on the wooden floor stop.

I hesitated, taking in a breath before continuing. "Stay. Please, Bill."

Faster footsteps, and then the door creaked slowly open. Bill looked at me hesitantly through the doorway.

I fidgeted with my fingers, biting my lip again (nervous habit) as I looked up at Bill again. "Could you...uh - that is, I'd feel safer if..."

"If...?" Bill prodded.

"It's just...there was a dream demon and-"

Suddenly, Bill was by my side, gripping me by the shoulders. "What did he look like?!"

"I-I didn't see him." I gulped, looking into Bill's eyes, trying to read his expressions, but as soon as I tried Bill had hurriedly let go of my shoulders and apologized profusely.

"I can't protect you in the Mindscape, Hayden." he murmured, running a hand through his hair. He looked at me with sad eyes - sort of like a puppy's. "I'm not a demon anymore, I don't have those powers."

"Still." I stated. "I think I'd feel better if...um, actually let me do this. Lie down."

Bill looked startled. "On your bed?"

"Well, I don't want to sleep on the floor."

Bill sent me a look, then lay down on my bed, almost letting out a sigh as he felt the softness of my pillows.

"Are you okay with giving me a hug?"

Bill suddenly sat up, looking at me weirdly. "Hayden, is that you?"

I arched an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about, demon. Of course it's me."

"Then why are you acting nice to me?"

Talk about _ouch_.

"Bill..." I started. "I'm sorry for being a jerk. I just...Felicia acted like you two were working together to repeat Weirdmageddon...I just want my family to be safe."

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and turned to see Bill. "I understand. Hey, look. If I forgive you, will you give me a chance to show you I've changed?"

I grinned, an idea forming in my head as I clasped Bill's hand in mine, shaking it enthusiastically. "It's a deal."

The grin on my face grew wider, and I pounced onto him, falling onto the bed. I was facing the ceiling, using him as a sort of pillow.

He was pretty warm.

"Flirt." he murmured, and my eyes immediately snapped open, sending a glare to the ceiling which was meant for Bill.

"Don't push it, Cipher."

He let out a chuckle, and I found myself smiling.

Maybe Bill wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

 **A/N: Fun fact: I had to rewrite this chapter three times because it didn't turn out like I liked it. At first it was a continuation of Chapter 10, then it was Ford leaving Hayden to investigate about Bill, and now it's this.**

 **Gravity Falls has officially ended. My heart sort of feels numb, it's like the show didn't end at all.**

 **Also! Talking about Ford, his voice actor, J.K. Simmons, voiced a character in the new Disney movie Zootopia! I actually watched the movie just to hear Ford's voice again, but I stayed for one of my newest OTPs (which I may be posting a fic about, so if you're a fan of the movie, stay tuned!).**

 **But the characters have a really good canonically platonic relationship, and the message of the movie is just...wow. You'll have to watch it to see what I mean.**

 **That being said, please do watch the movie! And if you can bring kids along, please do. It will teach them (and maybe you) lessons in life in such good ways.**

 **(I don't own any of these characters, I only own Hayden).**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	12. XII

"Bill, pass me the maple syrup."

"I may have _accidentally_ dumped all of it onto my pancakes - _HEY!_ "

I grinned triumphantly through a mouthful of syrupy pancakes. "Revenge is sweet."

Bill opened his mouth to answer me, but we both turned our heads when we heard a high pitched squeal.

Mabel stood in the doorway, her eyes literally sparkling. "I sense a new OTP!"

I blushed deeply, knowing exactly what that meant, but Bill frowned, tilting his head as he asked, "What's that mean?"

"Nothing!" I exclaimed, stuffing a pancake into Mabel's mouth hurriedly. "Nothing important!"

"Little sketchy there, Princess."

In one swift movement, I had the fork that I had used to stuff the pancake into Mabel's mouth under Bill's chin, growling as I said, "Do _not_ call me that."

"Not like it isn't true. But then again, you're certainly not Anna because at least she has _realistic_ hair."

"CAN IT, DEMON."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Uncle Stan yawned as he walked into the room. "Yeesh, kid, are you two fighting over pancakes?"

"We were, until Princess here got irrationally annoyed about a fact."

"It's not a fact, you one-eyed Dorito!"

Bill snorted. "First of all, I have two eyes. Second of all, I'm not a Dorito."

"Oh, yes, you're a 'being of pure energy with no weaknesses'!" I mimicked his voice, forming my right hand into a mouth and moving it's "mouth" up and down, rolling my eyes as I did so.

"That is so mature."

"Coming from you, that's real nice." I retorted, sticking out my tongue.

"Bill, your other hand, please." Dad murmured. Bill's hand went limp in Dad's arms as they locked it firmly into the metal chair.

Weren't expecting that, were you?

"And…there. The Dream Catcher is ready to go!" I grinned, taking one step back to marvel at my work. "What do you think?"

"I got a question." Uncle Stan spoke up, frowning. "What's that thing supposed to do?"

"Well, remember when you lost your memory?" Dipper asked. "Ever since then, Hayden and I have been fixing up a machine to be able to bring back those memories by replaying them in your head."

"And it took you nerds, what, five years?" Uncle Stan scoffed.

"Actually, three. Two of them was figuring out how to get those memories to play on this screen," Dipper said, patting the old television screen we had patched to our invention. "And then we had to get Flame incorporated into it, too."

"Which took a while, because Flame is the world's most dramatic AI." I murmured. My watch beeped loudly, and I yelped, jumping a bit at the burning sensation on my wrist. I gave my family an 'I-told-you-so' look as I gestured to my wrist.

"Why call it Dream Catcher when it catches lost memories?" Mabel asked from where she sat cross-legged on the kitchen floor.

Dipper smirked. "Hayden wanted a more beautiful name."

I gave my cousin a hard punch to the shoulder, fuming as I mumbled, "It's a pun, you pun-deprived monster."

"So, you're going to get to see my memories?" Bill asked, uncomfortable.

"We'll skip through the ones that aren't important, right, Hayden?" Mabel tried to comfort Bill, and she immediately looked up to me for confirmation.

I immediately nodded, despite Dad's weird look on me. "Bill _is_ a human, and he lives and breathed like the rest of us, so we don't have the right to force him into something he doesn't want. We can turn off the screen, if you want."

Bill shook his head quickly. "No. I _want_ to do this - I've been in all of your minds once, it's time you saw mine."

"Ready, Bill?" Dad asked him. With a nod of the blonde's head, the machine whirred to life. Bill gave a little jump, then went limp as if he was sleeping. His eyes drooped until they were fully closed, making it appear more so.

Beside him, the screen was buzzing with static, getting clearer and clearer by the second.

"Get…news…Great…money…jobs." Broken words slowly came out, each with a lapse of about ten seconds.

Suddenly, Bill's breath hitched in his throat and the static grew even louder. It continued growing louder, to the point that we had to cover our ears with our hands, wincing as we struggled to keep our eyes on the screen.

The static stopped - the screen buzzed for a few seconds before clearing to show a picture of what seemed like a young boy's bedroom. "William!" a voice shouted loudly, and the view shifted, bouncing up and down along with the thump of footsteps across the floor of the room.

"Are we literally reliving his memories from his point of view?" Dipper asked. Even if he had helped me through the last stages of the invention, I had been pretty keen on working on it myself.

I nodded. "Not like you can see yourself in your own memories, can you?" I whispered back.

"Yeah, I guess not."

"Sorry, Papa." Bill's voice said in a soft, almost afraid tone, yet the Bill in front of us was still limp and sleeping.

It was a probably a good thing it was a Sunday - a good reason for Uncle Stan to close shop - because if anyone had walked in at that moment, they'd think we were crazy - worst case scenario, they'd call up the police. I mean, what safe and sane family would strap a teenage boy to what looked like a torture chair while they watched what looked like some boring bizarre TV show?

Said screen now showed us a tall man with brown hair - looking stressed as he ran his hand through his hair. He must have been 30 years old, but the stress of everything happening made him look 10 years older. "Where's your mother?"

"I-I don't know. She said she'd be down."

The man sighed yet again. "Not like she can do anything by just sitting here. Go, call your mother. Tell her we'll be leaving soon."

After a few seconds of Bill walking, his hand finally pushed a bedroom door open, where a figure of a blond woman stood near the window, overlooking the view.

"Mama? Papa said we're leaving." Bill called out, and the woman turned her head.

"Yes, I heard. Your father doesn't know how loud his voice can get, does he?" To our surprise, Bill's mother had a British accent. She sighed, extending her hand for Bill to take as she said, "I don't know how your father just allowed this wonderful house to be sold just like that. We could have found another way..."

"No, Amanda, we couldn't, don't go telling our son it was my fault." a sharp voice interrupted.

"Thomas, I was merely -"

"William, out."

"But Papa -"

"OUT!"

The view suddenly grew blurred - tears, I realized - as Bill ran out of the room, ran out of the house, and collapsed sobbing onto what looked like a beautiful garden. They must have been rich before everything had happened.

All sorts of reactions were happening beside me. While I chose to stay frozen, shocked at how Bill and his mother had been treated by their father. Mabel looked horrified while Dipper held her close, looking equally shocked. Dad and Uncle Stan exchanged knowing glances - and I had seen enough of both of their thoughts to know that my grandfather, their own father, had been able to treat them the same way.

Bill continued to sob, rocking back and forth as he held what seemed like a pendant clutched in his hand. Unintelligible mutters were all I could hear aside from his cries, but it seemed to be something important, because soon the landscape turned a familiar gray as we all watched on in fear.

Bill had just summoned a demon.

"Now, what's this? Never had myself a crier for a summoner. Look alive, spunk." a demon chuckled darkly as he watched Bill's horrified face with glee.

Now, by demon, I don't mean dream demon, like Bill used to be. I mean literal demon, the ones you see in old paintings where they have bloodshot eyes and bodies like the devil. This one was decent enough to wear a suit, but it made no difference to the fact that he literally looked like he could kill you with a snap of his hand.

"Wh-who are you?" Bill stuttered.

"Certainly not your fairy godmother. If you wanted to go to a ball, you're out of luck." he snickered again. "Anyway, what seems to be the problem, hm? Kid like you with a house that big's gotta have an interesting story for me."

"It's not ours - at least not anymore." Bill murmured sadly, tears threatening to spill once again.

"Oh, is that it? What is it, the Great Depression? Yep, yeah, apparently that's it." the demon said, taking a look at a watch that quickly appeared and disappeared. "So, you want the house back?"

"You can do that?" Bill asked.

"Psh. Talking to a demon here, kid, I can do anything. Grant you anything you want - all for the small price of doing me a teensy tiny favor."

 _Teensy_ _tiny favor._ Yeah, right.

"So, what is it, kid?" the demon asked, hovering uncomfortably close to Bill. "We got ourselves a deal?"

"My parents' happiness…for…what?" Bill asked, looking up at the demon.

The demon's eyes shined mischievously. There was a blinding white flash, and then suddenly, floating in place of the demon, was a small, green triangle with one eye and cartoonly drawn-on arms and legs.

"Not much, is it." the demon sighed, one eye looking in discontent at his own figure. "But everyone starts out small. So…"

The demon extended his hand, which was engulfed in white flames. "Make a deal with me, and I grant you your wish. But you'll have to grant me a wish too - become a demon like me. You'll have my powers, look like me - but you can change some colors here and there, I know looking like a _leaf_ isn't impressive."

Bill's hands went out, and then retracted back, as if scared. "You promise they'll be happy?"

"You've got my word, kid. I'm not gonna do anything to ruin their freedom."

'"No." I whispered, horrified as Bill took a deep breath and re-extended his hand to shake the demon's.

"Deal." Bill said confidently.

"You idiot!" Dipper shouted.

"Don't do it!" Mabel screamed.

"Kid, take it back!" Uncle Stan groaned.

"It's a trap!" Dad yelled.

And all I could do was watch, surprisingly in tears, as my heart beat hard against my chest, and Bill started to give out a blood curling scream.

"Nice working with ya, Cipher. Enjoy your immortality." the demon cackled. He let out the most shiver-inducing evil laugh, and the screen displayed blue.

The same blue as the flames Bill's hands were always encased in, and that's when I realized how demons were initiated.

As Bill's screams started to wear down, the blue turned to a golden yellow, and his screams turned maniacal, insane, and they weren't screams anymore - they were laughs.

The lights in the Shack flickered on and off, and Mabel jumped, burrowing deeper into her brother's arms.

We were all silent, too silent. The only sound anyone could hear for miles were that same laugh.

The very first laugh of a demon who had just been born, the very first laugh of a demon who would be able to trick my father, the very first laugh of a demon who would try to tear us apart, the very first laugh of a demon who had wanted to kill our family…

The very first laugh of Bill Cipher.

* * *

 **A/N: I feel weird about this. Just in the previous chapter, Hayden was using Bill as a human pillow, and now she's scared…or is she worried for him?**

 **I seem to really like rewriting these things…although I only had to rewrite this once, so improvement!**

 **If you guys didn't get that one reference with the leaf: that was originally Bill's design, because Alex had taken him from the back of the dollar bill. But after seeing a green Bill and deciding he looked too much like a leaf and dreading to think of all the jokes us fans would say about Bill, he allowed it to be changed to yellow thinking nothing would be worth joking about then.**

 **But as we all know, our beloved Dorito never did get that.**

 **Leave a review! I love those!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own anything but Hayden and demons aside from Bill. Gravity Falls is property of Disney and Alex Hirsch.**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	13. XIII

Bill's eyes flew open, panting for air as the screen beside him went black. All the time we were watching he had been in the chair, asleep and doing nothing, yet he was covered in the sweat of someone who had just been running.

We were still all shocked by what we had seen, so all we could think to do was stare at him while he obviously needed help.

Bill's eyes locked on to me, gulping before he breathed, "Hayden?"

I jumped, startled, but immediately made my way over to get him out of the chair. "Sorry, sorry." I mumbled.

Later, I heard Dad and Dipper start to help Bill out as well. I accidentally bumped into my cousin, and as we mumbled apologies, I got a glimpse of his expression.

Grim, scared, shocked - I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the same.

Bill must have known, too, by the way he looked in fear at the rest of us. Maybe it was the trauma of reliving a particularly scarring memory, or maybe he thought that we would go back to trying to kick him out of the Shack and out in the open, defenseless, just because we had received another reminded that he had once tried to kill us.

"Why'd it show that one? All the memories I can't remember, why that?" Bill squeaked, voice weak and betraying the fear he was trying to keep hidden.

I avoided the gaze he was giving me, feeling as if I'd betrayed him by showing the rest his memory. "The Dream Catcher's set to lock onto the most recent memory you lost and the biggest. You said you lost memory of what happened to you before you became a demon, and this is the most recent one."

It was quiet again after that. Dad excused himself to return to his lab in the basement and brought the Dream Catcher - well, dragged more like - along with him, Uncle Stan said something about 'losing customers' and went out to actually open the Shack, and Mabel and Dipper decided they would head to the diner.

"Hayden, are you coming?" Dipper asked, halfway out the door.

Although I was turned away from him, I could feel Bill's anxious gaze on me, and sighed before shaking my head.

 _Oh, I'm going to regret this._

"Nah, it's fine, I'm staying here. Bring me back a pancake or two, though."

Mabel and Dipper exchanged a glance before nodding and heading out to Lazy Susan's.

For someone who knew how to read minds, reading Dipper and Mabel's was sort of a challenge.

Probably because they were always thinking a thousand things all at once.

"You're scared of me, aren't you?" Bill murmured, soft.

"I'm not scared of _you_." I decided, taking a deep breath to clear the wavering tone in my voice. And it was true, seeing Bill right now didn't scare me, didn't make me want to get as far away from him as possible.

"I'm scared of whatever it was in that memory you had. He tricked a little kid to make a deal with him." I continued.

"I made a deal with Dipper when he was 12." Bill pointed out.

"You needed to burn the journals, you needed to stop us getting back home because you wanted to rule over the world." I shrugged. "Typical villainy. But did that demon gain anything at all from turning you into a demon?"

Bill's silent gaze only confirmed my suspicions. "He turned you into a demon for fun. There was literally nothing he could have gained from that. Not another pawn in his take over the world, nothing." I presented to Bill, trying to make him see what looked wrong.

"I never did see him again."

"You what?"

"That demon. No one knew his name, and after he turned me into a demon, he just…disappeared. No one ever saw him again."

Gears turned in my head, and then stopped, and then went. It was confusing, and really mysterious. I knew demons, and Bill knew them too. _Both_ of us were realizing something was wrong about the way that demon had acted.

"Anyway, there's no way we can do anything about it now. He's gone." Bill sighed, slumping into the couch. We had apparently made our way into the living room while we were talking.

"Don't say that, people always say that and then regret it." I snapped, furrowing my brow.

"Alright, well, if we do think about it, it's not like we can go back in time and - _no_ , Hayden, we're not."

I sent him a look. "Yeah, I wasn't planning on it. I don't want to end up like a character from a sci-fi show or something."

"Exactly. Let's stop thinking about it." Bill murmured, sinking deeper.

I opened my mouth, as if to contradict his words, but I saw the scared look in Bill's eyes, the tears he was trying to hold back. Sure, we had seen the horror that was Bill's initiation into demonhood, but we had forgotten to take into consideration the fact that Bill had just re-lived the memory while we had been watching, and we were showing ourselves to be more affected then he was.

It wasn't fair.

"She used to play piano." I murmured out of nowhere.

"What?"

"My…mom. My mom." I said, as if weirded out by my own words. "Mom…she…she used to play piano."

"And she loved wild animals!" I added, trying to ignore Bill's skeptical gaze. "Foxes, especially. She thought they were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She drew them on whatever piece of paper she could get her hands on."

"Hayden…"

"And she loved to sing! She used to, all the time. Especially when it was to sing me to sleep."

"Hayden, what…"

"It's not like I can remember." I cut, looking down at my hands. "Everything I know about my mom was just said to me by the soldiers back in Dimension 52. I never knew her enough to remember her."

"I know, Hayden."

"Yeah, I know you know. You've been into my dad's mind, right?" I murmured, looking up at Bill, who only avoided my gaze. "I mean, you've seen the memories he keeps hidden from my telepathy."

"You have telepathy?"

"Don't act like you didn't know." I scoffed. "Heck, even Dad might know already - I would have known what Mom looked like if he didn't."

"It's unfair." I rambled on, even if I could feel the sympathy Bill's gaze was giving me. "I was too young to remember her. It isn't my fault I couldn't age fast enough or that humans don't have that good of a memory."

"Hayden, where are you going with this?"

"What I'm trying to say," I said, looking straight into Bill's eyes, "is that how we acted wasn't fair. How my family acted wasn't fair to you. Sure, we were pretty creeped out - _heck_ , who wouldn't be after that? - but you lived through it and just had to _again_. It's not like you wanted to become a demon - you were just trying to help your family out the only way you knew how. Like any normal human would do, like how any one of us would have done if we were faced with the same consequences."

The confused look Bill gave me was enough to make me lower my head in humiliation, sighing as I said, "You don't deserve to be called a monster and I was one of the first who did so. I'm sorry."

"Okay, that's it."

It was my turn to be confused. I looked up, ready to go "Huh?", when Bill grabbed me by the shoulders and sat me down on Uncle Stan's couch.

I struggled against his iron grip, looking up at him in what was somehow fear as I asked, "Bill, what-"

"Let's make a deal: right here, right now." All I could do was nod out of both fear and curiosity. "We'll _both_ stop acting like dramatic jerks - frankly, we're annoying everyone else around us, us included."

I had to agree. This whole drama wasn't something I needed, nor was it something anybody in the Shack wanted, so it needed to stop.

But with all the things that were going on, how could we avoid them?

As if reading my mind (and I'm pretty sure he couldn't do that), Bill continued, "We pretend like we don't know each other, act like we've only just met yesterday. You get to find out what I'm really like, and vice versa. No biases, just two teenagers being friends. Deal?"

"And you don't have to shake my hand." Bill added once I had started to extend my hand.

"Okay. Deal." I nodded.

The grip on my shoulders quickly disappeared, and Bill shook his head before facing me again, a formal expression on his face as he extended a hand. "Hello. My name's Bill Cipher, and I'm really random, clumsy, and all sorts of weird. Who have I the pleasure of meeting?"

I stifled a laugh at the fancy language, but grabbed onto his hand to pull me up. "Hayden Pines. I'm a bit of a nerd and a geek, I can't go a day without anything sweet to eat, and I embrace weirdness with open arms because I think it's pretty cool."

There was a glimmer in Bill's eyes. "You _embrace_ weirdness, you say? Well, why don't you give _this_ batch of weirdness one?"

I groaned, pushing him so that he fell to the carpeted floor on his ass. "Don't push it. We've only just met, and you're hitting on me?"

"I'm known to be a heartthrob."

"Try eyesore, it's a better comparison." I shot back.

"Ouch. Didn't know you were a heartbreak, sweetheart."

"You'll be breaking more than your heart if you call me that one more time."

"Noted."

"Do I have to stand this flirting?" Flame groaned from my wrist, as if reminding me she was still there.

"Who said that?" Bill asked, as if hearing Flame for the first time. He really loved this whole thing - and I'd be lying if I said I didn't either.

"This is Flame." I said, showing off my wrist. "She's an AI my cousin and my father made for me."

"Why's she named Flame?"

"I accidentally set her mainframe on fire while trying to modify her to my needs."

"She's really picky." Flame stage whispered to Bill, who gave me an amused look as I glared at my wrist.

"That's it. Shut down." I snapped, and the watch turned black.

"Voice recognition?" Bill asked, looking truly in awe.

"Yep. Comes in handy."

"I'm starting to think you're a spy, Hayden Pines." Bill teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, of course. Somewhere in my closet there's a black skintight suit complete with spy equipment. In fact, the whole family's a spy family!"

"You even have a hideout in the forest. Amazing." Bill shook his head, looking around the Shack.

"Oh, I try my best." I grinned smugly.

"Not you, though."

"Hey!"

We were so busy 'getting to know each other' we hadn't noticed Dipper and Mabel had returned form the diner. In fact, we completely forgot about the pancakes I had made then buy me until later in the night, when Dipper mentioned that I hadn't even moved the take-out bag from where they had placed it on the table.

"I'm sorry!" I apologized. "I'll just reheat it tomorrow."

"Yeah, then maybe you could share it with your new friend." Mabel giggled.

"Who? Bill?" I asked, grinning mischievously at Bill. "Stick's don't need food to eat."

"Hey!" Bill protested, but I only shrugged.

"Karma's a bitch."

"You know who else is a bitch?" Mabel groaned. "This one girl at school. Okay, so…"

As Mabel recounted the tale of one of the more popular girls at school, I found myself looking around the table and feeling content.

Dad and Uncle Stan were listening and offering to simultaneously wreak havoc onto the girl's life, Dipper and Mabel were telling the tale together, Bill was eagerly sipping his iced tea, and looking at him was…easier.

It was a childish thing to do, and a cliché one at that, to act like we were strangers.

But it was working wonders for both of us, and I didn't intend to stop that anytime soon.

Turns out the Dream Catcher didn't just bring back memories.

It had conveniently 'erased' some, too.

Guess it was time to rename it again.

* * *

 **A/N: I had no idea how to end this chapter, dear God it took me forever!**

 **Anyway, I didn't rewrite this chapter, but I almost did. I did, however, had to write it at 12:05 AM because that is how random my inspiration for writing goes. Ugh.**

 **Leave a review!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own anything but Hayden and demons aside from Bill. Gravity Falls is property of Disney and Alex Hirsch.**

 **-psychopathicdorito**


	14. XIV

"She stopped working altogether!" I groaned, falling back on my bed as Bill closely inspected my watch.

"Maybe she's just throwing a tantrum. I knew I would if you shut me down rudely." Bill suggested from where he sat cross-legged on the wooden floor of our shared room.

I sat up for a moment. "You'd tell someone to shut up if they were making stupid remarks at your expense, too." I retorted, then allowing my head to sink back into the pillow

"It's the mainframe." I announced, deciding for myself a few moments later. "Fuck, I knew setting her on fire would give me _some_ sort of consequence in the long run."

"So fix the mainframe, easy."

"Yeah, easier said than done."

"I thought you were a genius."

"You think that when I set the mainframe on fire it was a good thing?" I challenged. "I learned that I don't know a single thing about how Flame ticks. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"Maybe I can help?" Bill offered.

"What?"

He sent a wink my way. "Believe it or not, I've been places."

I struggled not to smirk. There seemed to be no end to our little act - not that I was complaining any, just because it was somehow getting me overly into character (and that wasn't such a bad thing either, now that I think of it).

A few weeks more and I could have fooled myself into thinking I had never known Bill beforehand.

In fact, it was strange. Come to think of it, maybe I never _had_ truly known Bill. Maybe none of us did.

But then again, how can you have time to know somebody when you're busy trying to defeat them?

"Hey, I know I'm good looking but that's probably a bit too much." Bill's smug tone snapped me back into reality, where he was watching me watch him, a smirk to match his tone plastered onto his face.

I shoved a pillow onto him, enjoying the muffled protest he gave. "I was thinking. You happened to be in the way."

"Honey, I _am_ the way. The way to enlightenment."

"Please stop."

Bill grinned, before continuing in a more serious tone, "I think I might know a thing or two about the mainframe, like I said before." he told me. "I've been around enough people who tinker with stuff oddly like it to know a thing or two myself."

"Just _please_ don't do anything to ruin it." I pleaded as we exited the room on our way downstairs. "Flame might be annoying at times but I sort of like having her around, even if I don't spend that much time with her."

"That's the reason we miss people in the first place, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"It's when we get the threat that they might leave us that we start to miss people, remember the times we used to be with them and hope there was a way to add to those."

"You're acting highly wise today." I observed, and Bill gave me a grin.

"Aren't I always?"

Another shove, courtesy of yours truly. I would have pushed him into the sofa in the living room, but I had seen the strange look in his eyes.

Sort of like a 'thank you' that I hadn't let him stray down Memory Lane again.

Once we arrived at the gift shop, we were met with Wendy pushing Uncle Stan out of the door and Mabel hauling what seemed like a suitcase.

"Is there a road trip I'm not informed of?" I asked, coming closer to help my cousin with her bag. Upon doing so, an oddly familiar smell crept up my nose.

The smell of cosmetics.

"Let me guess - makeovers?" I said.

"Yep!" Mabel beamed. I had no idea if she could see what I was seeing - Uncle Stan struggling against Wendy's tight grip after being reminded once again of his fate.

If she _did_ see it, she was choosing to ignore it. Immensely.

It wasn't like I didn't understand why he was so unwilling. He had been through enough of Mabel's makeovers in the past few years, and all of them had turned less...successful than they had been with ours.

Mabel had even tried to give Dad a makeover, and it had turned out with the same output.

It wasn't because Mabel's skill wasn't perfect - it could actually be considered flawless.

It was mainly because Mabel tended to overestimate them both.

She saw them as people as fit as thirty something year old men, when there was a notably large difference. And neither did Dad nor Uncle Stan think wearing skinny jeans at the age of 60 something (none of them were sure what age they were - Dad because of the portal, Uncle Stan because he didn't really deem it important) was a good idea.

Instead of helping him out, though, I merely grinned. "Have fun! Oh, and send some pictures."

"You got it, dude." Wendy promised, giving one final shove to push Stan out the door. Mabel followed after giving us a wide smile and a wave.

"I'm guessing they think we're gonna watch over the gift shop?" Bill asked.

"Trust me. As much as I love Dad and Dipper, they would litter the room with _Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons._ " I smirked.

"Dungeons?" Bill seemed confused. "How would those two litter the gift shop with dungeons in less than an hour?"

"No, the board game!" I giggled, nudging Bill from where I sat behind the cashier. "Come on, quit acting dumb, Dad used to play it all the time, didn't he ever mention or make you play it?"

Bill looked uncomfortable, biting his lip before he uttered, "No, it's - uh, well - sort of fuzzy. I don't remember most things like you think I would."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean - I mean I don't remember details like those. Sometimes I can't even remember names - that's why I keep calling people off of their symbols."

True to his word, Bill had been calling Dipper _Pine Tree,_ Mabel _Shooting Star,_ Dad _Sixer,_ Wendy _Ice Bag,_ Uncle Stan _Fez,_ and many others. I was probably the only person he had consistently called by name - probably because I didn't have a symbol.

"So, you're saying that your memory as a demon isn't something you remember?" I asked.

Bill hesitated. "I'd say yes, but I remember what I did. I regret it, too, but...it wasn't me doing it. It sort of felt like someone else was possessing my body but I was willingly let them do it."

So that's how demons felt most of the time. No wonder they went insane trying to make deals or rule over the world. With that content of lost memories, anyone would go berserk trying to remember.

"Like, Pine Tree told me that I was acting out of character." Bill continued to explain. "You guys have to understand the me you first met was the one out of character. _This_ Bill is me - a bit shy, a bit confident, and every bit confused."

"And sort of air-headed, thinking he's hot?" I joked, hoping Bill would answer with a smug remark on how he didn't _think_ he was handsome since he was handsome in real life.

Nothing.

Instead, Bill gave me a sad smile before slumping down, hitting the cold wooden floor. I leaned so that I could look beyond the counter, and found him sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around his legs as he brought them close.

Without a second thought, I sat beside him. Giving him a gentle nudge. "Hey. You wanna talk?"

Bill hesitated, but then shook his head. "No, don't worry. Wouldn't want to break the deal."

Talk about ironic. After years of not following his own deals, Bill was suddenly keen on keeping this one, the one with no consequences if not followed?

Maybe he really wasn't in control of his own body.

I shook my head, reminding myself that as of the moment there was something more important than scientific observations on how Bill's experience as a demon had been. Here was a friend in trouble, and I had to help.

Weird. Calling Bill a friend was one of the things I never thought I would be able to do (unless I joined him and his demonic squad), but here I was, freely thinking it without a second thought. If anyone had asked if Bill was my friend, I would have said _'yes'_ in a heartbeat.

Probably a good thing Mabel wasn't there. The situation really didn't need a hyper sixteen year old taking pictures of us to put in her scrapbook of memories.

Speaking of Mabel, that reminded me: she had been the person I could trust on the most. Even if Dad, Dipper, or Uncle Stan offered their help, Mabel's help was different, almost therapeutic. Although my whole family was and always will be a big help, Mabel was the biggest help - just because she listened.

"Look." I started, staring straight ahead. I didn't need to know whether Bill was looking at me or not. All I needed was for him to listen.

For his sake.

"I may not be the best person to tell your problems to, but if you ever need a friend - I'll be happy to help." I told him.

Bill stared at me with wide eyes, and I felt like a weight had been taken off my chest.

"It doesn't even have to make sense. You can just randomly come up to me and tell me things you remember from your childhood, things you remember you did that weren't that psychotic as a demon, just anything." I continued. "All I know is that you need to get someone who listens, and if it's not going to be anyone else, then I guess it'll have to be me."

"I -" Bill looked like he was going to protest, but after thinking through my words, he visibly relaxed. "Okay. That's a great idea."

"Of course." I winked. "It did come from me."

Before Bill could groan or counter my statement, we were interrupted by the sound of what seemed like a bus rolling in front of the Shack. The first crowd of tourists.

I jumped from my seat, dusting myself off, and Bill followed suit, hands in his pockets.

"Thanks again." Bill smiled.

"Don't mention it. Also, I'm sorry. Guess checking on the mainframe will have to wait." I apologized, knowing that we were both wondering what had happened to the main goal of our trip downstairs.

"Eh. It's fine. Not like I don't enjoy the quiet anyway." Bill grinned, making me grin back.

I glanced down at my watch, feeling Flame's absence fully. Usually she'd crack a sarcastic response or remind me that I shouldn't keep customers waiting (and not in a nice tone, mind you), but she was still silent. Still turned off.

It was strange. She was just an AI with an oddly familiar voice.

Why did it feel like her absence was oddly familiar, too?

* * *

 **A/N: This took forever, once again! Fun fact: I wrote this using ZenWriter, which is just amazing, so if you don't have it, I highly suggest you find a way to get it now, because I swear, it will change your life forever.**

 **Apparently there's going to be a post-finale Between the Pines? Even Alex isn't sure what it's about, according to the man himself on Twitter. He did say that he thinks it might be the cut scenes from the actual Between the Pines, but he still isn't sure.**

 **Also, Journal #3's cover art is out, and it is beautiful! It looks as close to the actual journal as it can! I don't know how I'm going to get it since it probably won't be sold in bookstores here and shipping from other countries is a risky thing, but I'm keen on getting my hands on it no matter what. It won't include writings in invisible ink despite Alex's (and the fandom's) wishes, though, but it still might be a Collector's Edition possibility!**

 **Thought we'd never get new Gravity Falls news, yet here we are! *narrows eyes* Who made the deal with Bill?**

 **Disclaimer: All mentioned characters from Gravity Falls and Gravity Falls itself is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. This fanfiction is a figment of my imagination, and is non-canon. Hayden Miranda Pines and mentioned demons not in the actual show are owned by me.**


	15. XV

Sixteen years old.

I was only sixteen years old, and yet I had seen more than most average sixteen year olds should see or would see. After living in a literal nightmare for thirteen years of my life, running from monsters and other horrors, I could be considered more mature than other people my age due to my experiences.

Who am I kidding?

I'm _nothing_ like that.

That would explain the way I was dragging Dad through the forest.

"Hayden, I thought you and Bill were going to do something?" Dad had asked when I had appeared at the lab, asking him to spend a day with me.

"Yeah, but Bill and I found something really cool you've got to see, Dad." I pleaded.

Dad raised an eyebrow at me. "Uh-huh. Out of nowhere? You're not going to show Dipper first?"

Said cousin peeked from behind Dad, wearing a lab coat and lab goggles - that was funny; as if Dad cared about lab safety - as he waved at me. I gave him a quick smile before returning my attention to Dad.

"But we haven't been out together." I whined, fidgeting on the spot. "Please?"

Dad hesitated, trying to figure out how to answer. Fortunately, Dipper - great cousin that he is - spoke up. "Actually, Great Uncle Ford, Grunkle Stan and Mabel thought today would be a great idea for me to teach Bill how to give tours around the Shack so he and I could give tours at the same time. Time is gold."

"And you just remembered now?" Dad's tone was skeptical, but Dipper stood emotionless as he nodded.

Dad sighed, and I bit my lip as I realized even _he_ knew that Dipper was lying.

"Okay, okay, go ahead. Have fun." he finally said, smiling as he gave Dipper a little ruffle on the head before gently pushing him towards the elevator. As soon as he was out of earshot, Dad turned to me.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Can't a kid spend some quality time with her father?" I defended, wincing as I heard the crack in my voice. It was barely audible, but I had the sinking feeling that Dad had definitely heard it.

"Of course she can." Dad said gently. "But her father knows her enough to know that something's bothering her."

"What? Psh, nah." I fibbed.

 _Of course_ Dad was right. He was almost always right.

As I continued to drag Dad through the forest, chatting about the amazing waterfall hideout I had discovered with Bill the night before, my thoughts traveled elsewhere, to a pitch black sky and a taunting voice.

The same thing I had experienced the night before.

The nightmare started the same it did before - with me disoriented and confused until I heard the hidden demon's voice, greeting and making fun of me until I was fed up.

"Look, what do you want? You got nothing when you were here the first time, and you're getting nothing now." I had growled.

The voice laughed. "What a horrible thing to say to your friend, Hayden!"

"You are _not_ a friend."

"Then let me prove it to you! I can give you anything you want, free of charge!" the voice said cheerily, but it still had that feel that sent shivers down your spine. "What does the princess want, hm?"

That sent a frown on my face. Bill calling me princess once was fine, but this demon?

"Oh, I know!" I could just imagine the person behind his voice, grinning evilly as he rubbed his hands together (typical villain, I know, but he wasn't acting any original). "What about the one thing you've always wanted?"

"That's where you'll fail. You can't give me the one thing I want even with all the deals in the universe."

There was a pause. "I can, but that would be too predictable. And boring. So..."

 _Snap!_

"I'll just give you a close substitute."

Suddenly, I was in a beautiful garden, like the ones you see in old paintings. Everything was so peaceful and perfect, there were literal butterflies and birds floating around the place. If I could strain my ears enough, maybe I could hear laughter.

I stood up, brushing the grass off of myself, then proceeded to walk around. Even if I couldn't hear the demon's voice any longer, I knew he was watching me, and that he was the reason I was here.

"Come on, Miranda, spit it out! I know he isn't some dashing prince, so go on! Tell me!"

 _Miranda?_

"No. No no no." I exclaimed, shaking my head and walking backwards. "No! Get me out of here!"

But there was no response. I gritted my teeth, jamming my palms against my ears as I hoped to stop hearing the conversation.

 _I can't...I can't -_

"You promise you won't tell anybody, Hayden?"

 _Hayden?_

My body went against my own will as I rushed forward to find the source of the voice, hiding in the bushes as I saw a glimpse of someone's shadow. The voices were getting nearer, so I pushed through the leaves to form a hole I could watch the scene through.

Two women stood in the garden. One was dressed as a simpleton, and she pushed the woman beside her lightly, saying, "Oh, come on, Miranda! I think that as your best friend I deserve to know who the next Lord is going to be."

"Shut up, Hayden! It's not like he's asked me to marry him."

My breath hitched in my throat. My eyes went wide, taking in every detail about the woman in front of me.

About my mother.

She was taller than the other woman, wearing a ballgown colored blue and silver. She had her brown hair braided into what seemed like a French braid, and as she laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkled and dimples appeared on her cheeks. Her bright green eyes shined like nothing I had ever seen before.

She was beautiful.

"Ugh. Look, I've gotta go. Promised Dave I'd help him fix up that machine that new guy invented a while back."

Mom smiled. "Go ahead."

"You owe me an answer, Miranda Canterbury!"

As Mom smiled, waving to her friend as she watched her go, a figure crept up to her, hugging her from behind. She gave a small gasp, and then a chuckle as she turned around. "Stanford, really? I know it's you."

"Is this going to be a thing, you calling me by my full name every time we meet?"

I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming. There he was - my father, years before I had known him, smiling nervously as Mom smiled up at him. "I was sort of hiding behind that tree, I didn't know when your friend was leaving." he confessed.

Mom smirked. "She left because she was helping her friend fix something that belonged to you."

Dad frowned. "Yes, I heard that bit. Did they really think I would get that angry? It's not like I can't fix it easily."

"Ford, you're new." Mom smiled, sitting down as Dad followed suit. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "People here are scared of things new."

"And weird freaks." Dad added, looking down at his hand.

I wanted to walk in, tell Dad that he _wasn't_ a weird freak. He was a unique genius, someone refreshingly original, and not someone to be ashamed of. Just because I hadn't inherited his six fingers didn't mean I thought he was weird.

However, in front of me, Mom had grabbed Dad's hands in one swift movement, holding them tightly in her own. "Stanford Pines. You are not a freak. You're a miracle. You _saved_ me from death, and even before that you saved me from becoming a brainwashed noble. You're the one refreshingly original thing in this dimension, a genius so unique no one can compete with you. And I love that with all my heart. I love you."

"Thank you." Dad let out after a few minutes silence. He looked up at Mom with a thankful smile on his face. "I love you too, Miranda."

Before they could say or do anything else, the world around me shifted, turning a dark black until I was alone once again, longing for more memories of my mother, more things I could know about her.

"You see, this is why I don't get why you don't want to agree to my deal!" the demon said, sounding offended. "I give you anything you want, even things your own father won't give you, and still you reject me? It's a big loss."

"And it's _my_ big loss, so you shouldn't care. Cut the act." I snapped.

A sigh. "Fine. Same time next week."

I had woken up with a gasp, Bill looking at me sleepily but in concern, and the thunder booming outside.

After that nightmare, I had told Bill that I needed to talk some things through with Dad. By the way he was looking at me, I knew that he knew what sort of nightmare I had had the night before, but he said nothing and only wished me good luck.

Which brings us back to me dragging Dad through the forest.

"You know, this would be a lot more easier to find if you actually wrote down your findings, Hayden." Dad reminded me as I momentarily paused.

"Noted. This way!"

Finally, we reached the spot. It was a waterfall that wasn't really a waterfall, just the illusion of water running down the cliff. Behind that mysterious illusion (even Dad couldn't figure out what it was) was a cave that had a ladder as an entrance.

"Bill and I thought for sure that you put the ladder here." I admitted as soon as we made it.

"No, but maybe Fiddleford did. He loved finding stuff like these." Dad suggested, leaning against the wall. "You and Bill seem to hang out a lot, don't you?"

"I don't think he's lying, Dad. I think he really _is_ a human. His memories can't lie, can they?"

"No, I don't think they can. Even Stan's can't, and he's the best liar I know." Dad said, letting out a laugh.

I giggled, remembering the time Uncle Stan had gotten stuck on the Dream Catcher, and, in a weird series of events, gotten it to work and for his memories to play out. By the time we were all aware of what was happening, his memories about his ex-girlfriend were playing, and they may have been... _somewhat_ embarrassing.

(Did I say somewhat? I mean overly.)

"But I'm glad there's someone who keeps an eye on him." Dad continued, giving me a smile. "I may not fully trust him, but it'll be easier to breathe knowing someone I trust is watching."

"Yeah." I gulped nervously.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Dad asked, his fatherly instinct taking over as he gave me a concerned look.

"Nothing!" I stated quickly, knowing Dad was one to extremely worry. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

 _I'm sorry, Dad._

"You never talk about Mom."

Being a mind reader is hard at times, because you get to see the truth people desperately don't want to show you. There's always a reason for not wanting to tell people the truth.

Sometimes it's because you don't want to hurt them.

Other times, it's because you don't want to hurt yourself.

This was the latter time.

Tears sprung to Dad's eyes almost immediately, and I struggled not to give a gasp at the thoughts running through his head.

I could feel his pain, his guilt, his sorrow…

How could I have caused this?

"No, Dad, please, don't cry." I rushed, giving him a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking, I -"

"Hayden."

I looked at Dad in fear, and in his eyes was the pain and sympathy he had for both of us.

"All I can do is thank you for holding this off like you did." Dad said, voice laced with grief. "I've deprived you of this for too long, and you deserve to know."

A smile. Sadder than any other smile I had seen on anybody.

"Dad…" If I had the power to make him feel better in that moment, I would have.

But no. We both needed this. We both needed to remember the woman who could cheer Dad up no matter what, about the woman who loved him enough to choose him over all her possessions…

About the woman who could never return.

* * *

 **A/N: Favorite characters: Bill and Ford. What I do to them: Give them tragic pasts and make them suffer eternally.**

 **Also, another reference in this one! It's not a fandom reference, but a reference to a popular video I've been watching over and over.**

 **Summer's just around the corner for me since our school year starts in the last weeks of June and ends in the first weeks of April! We'll be taking up the August-start-of-classes for the next school year, however, so guess what that means?**

 **LONGER SUMMER!**

 **Disclaimer: Gravity Falls and all associated characters belong to Alex Hirsch and Disney. Only Hayden, Miranda, and demons excluding Bill are my property.**


	16. XVI

"I don't expect you to remember her." Dad sighed. "But it's unfair that you have to deal with that."

The waterfall might have been an illusion, but it didn't sound like one. The sound echoed throughout the cave, leaving us with a nostalgic feeling.

"I don't talk about her because I don't think I'll ever give her existence justice." Dad further explained. "Words can't tell how amazingly perfect your mother was - maybe she was too perfect. Maybe that's why she had to leave."

From the pocket of his trench coat, Dad handed me an old picture. It was dirty, soiled, and singed at the sides, but you could clearly see the family picture.

I could feel Dad's eyes on me as I drank in every detail with my eyes. "We were in our late forties when we had you. By that time we'd given up on even having a child. Your mother believed that all the fighting had taken a toll on her. But then you came."

Dad gave a soft chuckle. "When your mother first saw you, she instantly fell in love with you. And that didn't change for the past days. You were her little angel, her gift from heaven, her miracle - you were everything she wanted and more."

I couldn't seem to get enough of the only family picture I had ever seen of us. Dad smiled widely, the gray on his hair starting to show, and beside him, a beautiful woman, smile equally wide, who didn't look a day over thirty. In her arms was an infant, green eyes looking straight ahead in curiosity.

It was the first time I had ever seen a picture of me as an infant.

"They told me she disappeared." I said, my voice hoarse from not talking. "They told me no one knows what happened to her. But you know, right, Dad?"

I only seemed to cause more pain as Dad looked away, letting out a shaky sigh.

"I wish I did." he whispered, looking at me before continuing in a stronger voice, "But no one could tell us what happened that night. No one had come home. After a few days, a rescue team was sent to retrieve bodies, or rescue anyone who'd gotten lost. And your mother...her body wasn't among any of them."

 _She wasn't even buried properly,_ I thought, anger filling my mind.

"For weeks, people were sent to look for her. We clung to the thought that she was lost, that she had escaped and was finding a way back." Dad continued. "But after nearly a year of searching for her, we had to accept the truth: she wasn't coming back."

"How did you know that?!" I protested.

"Because your mother, no matter what, would _always_ come back to you." The pain laced in Dad's voice felt fresh, as if Mom had just disappeared yesterday. "And you seemed to know she was gone, because you cried for days and days and _days -_ I didn't know what to do. Miranda had always been the one to calm you down. And now...she was gone."

"Dad..." I felt angry at myself. How could I have caused that much trouble and pain to him? Even if it was years back, and I had been an infant who didn't know any better, I was still making him retell the tale, and I could feel the hurt I was causing.

How could I have been so selfish?

"For years I dreaded the question you would give me eventually. But for some reason, you didn't. Even at 7 years old, I could feel the question lingering at the tip of your tongue, but you always found a way to put it aside. I was grateful that at such a young age you had learned how to sense how others were feeling, but I never thought about how you would've felt. And I'm sorry."

"Dad, you don't have to apologize." I reassured him. "If I had known Mom, talking about her would've been hard, too."

"You are just like your mother in every way." Dad smiled, putting a hand on my cheek. "She would have loved to see the person you grew up into today. She would have been so proud of you, Hayden."

Once again, my thoughts flashed back to that one memory. The woman with brown hair and shining green eyes, and a laugh that would forever be ingrained in my memory.

I imagine those green eyes, looking at me with the same love they had for Dad, with the same happiness they had when she was with her best friend, and I tried to remember the way her voice had sounded when she had said my name.

My name...

"Why'd she name me Hayden?" I asked.

Dad looked surprised, then he thought for a minute. "Well...she told me the name was dear to her heart. A close friend she had lost. I never thought to ask more than that."

Her best friend, my namesake, had died.

I fought the urge to let out a bitter laugh.

There were too Haydens in her life. One she had lost, and one who had lost her.

She had never gotten to spend the time she wanted with either.

"They said she really wasn't supposed to be married to you." I carried on, knowing that it would be too suspicious if I was quiet. I didn't plan on Dad knowing that a demon was plaguing my dreams...again. "That she already had an arranged marriage with some Lord of somewhere."

"Duke, actually. I can't remember the name, though."

I gave out a giggle. "Of course you don't, Dad. You were competing with him for Mom's heart."

Dad gave a little smirk. "Competing? I was winning. Your mother had called the marriage off. There wasn't much that duke could do about it, either."

"That's it? No drama, no 'you stole my lady', nothing?" I prodded, and Dad laughed at the look on my face.

"No, Hayden. The duke was a coward, and he knew better than to wage war on someone who was already waging war on monsters from hell."

"And you had saved her life." I pointed out.

I let out a gasp as I realized what I had just said, placing my hands over my mouth. "I'm sorry! That's what they told me, and -"

"It's fine, honey. It is the truth."

My eyes went wide. "You did save her?"

"More of pushed her away from the beam that was supposed to kill her. Got myself a bit busted up in the process, but it was any soldier's job to protect her. I was merely in the right place at the right time."

"And you looooooved her." I teased, waggling my eyebrows suggestively.

Dad blushed a crimson red, as if he was Dipper and I was teasing him about an unrequited crush. "Hayden, I married her. Of course I loved her, but love at first sight isn't really realistic."

"Dad, just admit that you thought she was devilishly beautiful and fell in love with her seconds after seeing her." I said plainly, and Dad slumped.

"Maybe a little. But it's not like I was trying to seduce her!" Dad exclaimed soon after seeing the way I was grinning. "I didn't have that much experience with women, people back home knew that, and it was my dumb luck she fell in love with this nerdy piece of trash."

I stifled a laugh. "Dad. Mom fell in love with you _because_ you're a nerdy piece of trash. I may not have met her, but I'm pretty sure that's the main reason she fell in love with you."

Dad rolled his eyes, but I saw the smile on his face. "If that's what makes you happy, then fine, yes, your mother fell in love with me because of my nerdiness."

"She was perfect, wasn't she?" I asked, sighing as I rested my head on my hands.

"Too perfect." Dad sighed. "In fact, I don't know what I did to deserve her."

 _I don't know what I did not to deserve her,_ I thought bitterly.

"You can keep the photo, sweetheart." Dad said when I tried to give him back the picture. "I've got my memories. You can hold on to that."

I engulfed Dad in a hug. "Thanks, Dad. I love you so much."

"I love you too, honey."

We walked back to the Shack, silent as we entered it. As Dad immediately made his way towards the basement, I saw Uncle Stan follow him. Secretly, I followed them and hid behind a wall as I listened to the speak.

"I'll be fine, Stanley, there's no need to worry about me." Dad sighed.

"I ain't taking no for an answer, Poindexter. I know when something's up with my brother, and I'm not one to stand around doing nothing. So spill." Uncle Stan said, arms crossed over his chest.

Dad sent him an amused smile, then sighed. "Hayden asked me about Miranda today."

Uncle Stan frowned. "Who?"

"Hayden's mother, Miranda. My wife."

The look on Uncle Stan's face grew to one of worry and concern as he moved closer to Dad, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now I know _for sure_ you're not okay. How'd the kid take it?"

"The same way I did years ago. And you know the crazy thing is, I still don't believe she's gone."

"Ford..."

"I know, it's pointless for me to believe that when she's been gone for sixteen years. Besides, it's not like I can come back and get her if she really is back in Dimension 52." Dad sighed. "It just...it just makes the pain more bearable. Clinging on to false hope that she'll be back."

Dad allowed himself to be engulfed in Uncle Stan's hug, breaking into tears as Uncle Stan patted his back. I could see how it pained him not to be able to comfort his brother, because it pained me the same way.

"Hayden?"

Dipper, Mabel, and Bill all stood behind me, watching me carefully. I forced a smile upon seeing them.

"Hey guys. How'd the lessons go?" I asked, hoping to steer clear from the pained look I knew I had on.

None of them answered. Soon after, Mabel tackled me, giving me a tight hug. Dipper followed soon after, and as Bill was trying to leave, Mabel grabbed him and squished him next to me.

"The lessons went great." Bill provided, and I let out a small laugh.

I gave one last look at my mother, smiling as she held me in her arms, and I smiled as well.

No one would ever replace the hole she had left. Both Dad and I knew that.

But with the family that we had, the family that tried so hard to fill the hole, it was easier to cope with her absence.

And somewhere deep in my heart, I knew that.

I pocketed the picture, letting out a silent sigh.

"That's good to hear."

* * *

 **A/N: I wrote all this in one night. Crazy how my writing only works when I've got other things to do. For example: study.**

 **But I hope you guys like it! This chapter isn't as long as the rest, and I had no idea how to end it, but I'm giving it to you guys anyway.**

 **Disclaimer: The only characters I own in this fanfic are Miranda, Hayden (yes, both Haydens), and all demons excluding Bill. Gravity Falls and other remaining characters belong to Disney and Alex Hirsch.**


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